551.4 
F94p 
cop. 14 


FRYXELL 

THE  PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF 
CHICAGO 


UNIVERSITY  OF     . 
ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 
AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


The  person  charging  this  material  is  re- 
sponsible  for  its  return  to  the  library  from 
which  it  was  withdrawn  on  or  before  the 
Latest  Date  stamped  below. 

nutilafion.     and 


Theft, 

for    disciplinary    action    and    may    result    in    dismissal    from 

the   University. 

To  renew  call  Telephone  Center,  333-8400 

UNIVERSITY    OF     ILLINOIS    LIBRARY    AT    URBANACHAMPAIGN 


Jul  l  9  W 

DEC  03 

DEC  o " 


D[C2  2?0)5 


THE   PHYSIOGRAPHY 
OF  THE 

REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 

THE  BAKER  &  TAYLOR  COMPANY 

THE  MACMILLAX  COMPANY  OF  CANADA,  LIMITED 
THE  CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
THE  MARCZEN-KAISUSIIIKI-KAISHA 
THE  COMMERCIAL  PRESS,   LIMITED 


THE  PHYSIOGRAPHY 

OF  THE 

REGION  OF  CHICAGO 

By  F.  M.  I  in  XELL 

DEPARTMEN1    "I    <■!  >H.<".1  .    UJGUSTANA  I  OLL1  Gl 
ROCK   ISLAND,   ILLINOIS 


PREPARED   in 

The  University  of  Chicago  Local  Community  Research  Committee, 

and  the  Chicago  Commonwealth  Club,  for  the 

Committeeon  General  Surveys  of  the 

CHICAGO  REGIONAL  PLANNING  ASSOCIATION 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 

(  UK    \<.o  •  ILLINOIS 


COPYRIGHT  1927   BY  THE   UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 

All  Myitis  Reserved 
Published  April  1927 


(■»in,,,/,(j'i/Un(,»lv,,..i;,„„;     ; 


• 


INTKOIHCTION 


■  ■/  7~ II I  \  tin  i  hicago  Regional  Planning 
MM/  Association  started  its  work  the  officers 
■/■/  immediately  recognized  the  need  for  a 
V  V  correct  base  map  of  the  region.  For  con- 
i  of  study  they  selected  an  area  with  ap- 
proximately a  fifty-mile  radius,  an  arm  which  in- 
cluded parts  of  three  states,  all  or  parts  of  fifteen 
counties,  and  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  cities  and 
villages.  Sections  of  the  ana  had  been  carefully 
mapped,  but  for  some  parts  there  urn  no  availabli 
maps,  and  on  no  one  map  was  there  the  complett  in- 
formation needed.  Thefirsi  undertaking  of  the  Asso- 
ciation's Committee  on  General  Surveys  was  the 
preparation  of  such  a  map,  underthedirectionof Pro- 
fessor J.  Paul  Goode,  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 

To  accompany  the  map,  each  department  of  the 
Regional  Planning  Association  needs  certain  gen- 
eral information  on  the  physical  geography  of  tht 
region,  so  that  il  may  lay  its  plans  carefully  and  on 
a  correct  foundation.  Therefore  the  present  study 
was  undertaken  which  delineates  in  a  broad  way 
the  outstanding  natural  features  of  tin  region  and 
emphasizes  especially  such  as  have  bearing  upon 
n  gional  planning. 

The  preparation  of  this  work,  as  well  as  of  the 
map,  was  made  possible  by  the  joint  financial  con- 
tribution of  the  Chicago  Commonwealth  Club  and 
tin  ( 'ommittee  on  Local  Community  Research  of  the 
I  'niversity  of  <  'hicago.  .  I  grateful  acknowledgmt  nt 
is  accordingly  made  to  both  of  these  organizations. 

In  this  report  tin  area  covered  by  the  base  map 
is  designated  as  the  "region  of  Chicago,"  or  the 
"t  hicago  region,"  although  the  latter  term  has  been 
used  by  other  authors  in  a  more  restricted  senst  to 
nly  to  tin  area  covered  by  the  Riverside,  Chi- 
cago, Des  Plaines,  and  <  alumet  topographic  maps 
published  by  tin  United  States  Geological  S 
This  region  of  Chicago  lies  at  the  head  of  Lakt 
Michigan  and  embraces  thi  northeastern  con 
Illinois,  tin  southeastern  corner  of  II  isconsin,  and 
tin  northwestern  corner  of  Indiana.  More  specifi- 
cally, it  includes  the  counties  of  Lake,  McHenry, 
t  ook.  Pa  Page,  Kane,  Kendall,  Grundy,  II' ill,  and 
Kankakei  m  Illinois;  the  counties  of  Racine,  Keno- 
sha, and  tin  eastern  two-thirds  of  Walworth  in 
Wisconsin;  and  the  counties  of  Lake,  Porter,  and 
Laporte  in  I  ml  in  mi.  Discussion  is  extended  nt 
times  tn  outlying  counties,  notably  Starke  County 


and  the  northern  part  of  Pulaski,  Jasper,  and  New- 
ton counties  in  Indiana;  and  the  northeastern  i>art 
of  Livingston  County  in  Illinois.   The  city  of  Chi- 
cago occupies  n  central  position  with  referex 
this  region. 

The  inception  of  this  study  is  due  to  Dr.  J.  Paul 

G le,  of  tin'  University  of  Chicago,  tht 

plan  developed  in  the  report  is  essentially  his,  and 
he  has  given  the  work  his  constant  personal  atten- 
tion. This  invaluable  supervision  and  the  kindly  in- 
terest which  have  accompanied  it  the  writer  takes 
tin  greatest  pleasure  in  acknowledging. 

To  Professor  -I  II  />'/>•/:.  of  the  University  of 
Chicago,  who  has  shared  with  lh.  Goode  the  super- 
vision of  this  study,  the  writer  gratefully  acknowl- 
edges his  indebtedness  for  help  and  counsel  II 
also  expresses  his  deep  appreciation  to  Dr.  M  M 
l.i  ighton,  director  of  the  Illinois  Geological  Survey, 
who  not  only  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  writer 
much  unpublished  data  in  the  possession  of  tht 
Survey,  but  also  volunteered  many  suggestions 
which  Imn  been  incorporated  in  this  study. 

Acknowledgments  are  also  made  to  l>  II  v 
Smith  and  Dr.  I..  II.  Smith,  of  tin  agronomy  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Illinois,  for  max*  to 
unpublished  soil  data  of  the  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment station,  and  for  courtesies  extended  the  au- 
thor on  tin  occasion  of  his  visits  to  Urbana;  to  Pro- 
fessors D.  •/.  Fisher,  II'.  /'.  .loins.  Paul  MacClin- 
tock,  George  D.  Fuller,  and  II.  C.  Cowles,  of  the 
University  of  Chicago,  and  particularly  to  the 
officers  of  the  Chicago  Regional  Planning  Associa- 
tion, nil  of  whom  hair  generously  assisted  the  writer 
ccasions.  Assistance  is  also  acknowl- 
edged from  the  United  States  Gt  >bgical  Survey,  the 
Bureau  oj  Soils  of  the  United  States  Departi 
Agriculture,  tht  Indiana  and  Wisconsin  Geological 
surveys,  and  the  United  States  Lake  Survey. 

.1  complete  statement  of  indebtedness  to  the 
great  geological  literature  dealing  with  the  region  of 
Chicago  is,  of  course,  impossible;  but  in  tin  text 
citations  are  made  to  the  works  from  which  most 
important  data  have  been  obtaim  I.  and  a  Si 
Bibliography  appears  n*  the  closi  of  tht  r>jinri. 
The  standard  publications  of  <  'hamberlin,  I 
Taylor,  Salisbury,  Alden,  Martin,  and  G  Idthwaii 
have  constittded  an  invaluable  mine  of  information. 
I     M    Fryxell 


UNIVERSITY  OF 

ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


tabu;  <>i  contents 


Lisa  i  'i   [llusth  vn 


[.  General  Physiographk   Fi  iti  res  IlNd  Their  Origin  i 

II.  'I'm    l.\ki    Plain,  \  Gri  \  i  l\m  stri  \i.  Am  \                         .  II 

III.  'I'm   Laki   Border  Upland,  a  Residential  and  Recreational  Area  hi 

IV.  Tin  (iin  u.<>  ()i  n.i  i.  mi  Gri  \  i  Pass  ro  i  m   Mississippi  Vallei  Is 
V.  Tin   Valparaiso  Upland,  i.  Continental  Divide 

VI.  Tin   Manteno  Plain 

VII.  Tin   Morris-Kankakei    Basin,  *.  Potential  Recreational  Belt  .  *> 

\  III    T i  b  Upland,  vn  A.gru  i  lti  ral  \ki  \  28 

l\     I.nki   M w  vnd  [ts  Shori   Line  80 

X.  Tin  Bed  Rock  and  Its  Surface,  a  Buried  Landscapi  .">? 

XI.  Tin  Si  i;i  \m   Mat]  rials,  Basis i  r  \ . . k- i <  cjltural  Wealtb  I-.' 

\ll    Tin  Geological  Resources  of  THi   Region  17 

Si  1. 1  i   I  1  D   BlBL RAPH1               ">1 

I  \i>i  \            .                                                                            .                 .  .">:'. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

1.  Index  Map 2 

2.  Natural  Divisions  of  thi  Region  of  Chicago  3 
:;.  Cross-Sections  through  the  Region  of  Chicago  ...  f 
4.  Diagrammatic  Cross-Section  through  the  Gri  it  Lakes  Region  4 
.'>.  Block  Diagram,  Showing  Basin  Character  of  the  Strata  i\  thi 

Gre  \r  Lakes  Region 4 

(>.  Geologic  Map  of  the  Great  Lakes  Region      ....  ."> 

7.  Glacial  Map  of  the  Central  Part  of  the  United  Statj  s  <> 
s.  Sketch  Map  of  Lake  Michigan  Region,  Showing  Position  of  the 

Green  Bay  and  Lake  Michigan  Lobes  of  the  Latest  Glaciation  7 

!).  Diagram  Explaining  Origin  of  Lark  Michigan  Basin  ...  7 

10.  Wind  Rose  for  Chicago 10 

1 1.  Ski  i<  ii  Showing  Changes  in  the  Course  of  the  Calumet  River  14 

12.  Contour  Map  of  the  Lake  Michigan  Basin 31 

13.  Diagram  Explaining  the  Shore  Drift  in  Lake  Michigan  .  32 
11.  Geologic  Map  of  the  Region  of  Chicago 38 

15.  Map  Showing  Average  Thickness  of  Surface  Materials   ...  40 

16.  Collecting  Areas  for   the  Artesian   Waters  of  the   Region   of 

Chicago 4!) 

17.  Diagram  Illustrating  Artesian  Conditions 50 


I.  Glacial  Map  of  the  Region  of  Chicago  . 

II.  Relief  Map  of  the  Region  of  Chicago 

III.  Drainage  Map  of  the  Region  of  Chicago 

IV.  Generalized  Soil  Map  of  thi:  Region  of  Chicago 
Y.  Base  Map  of  th]   Region  of  Chicago 


facing 

10 

facing 

IS 

facing 

4<> 

inside  hark  < 

over 

Chapter  I 

GENERAL  PHYSIOGRAPHIC  FEATURES 
AND  THEIR  ORIGIN 


Til  K  region  of  <  Chicago  lies  in  whai  is  know  n  in  a 
physiographic  classificati Fthe  United  States 
as  the  Central  Lowland,1  an  area  embracing  a 
large  pari  of  the  vast  basin  which  stretches  from 
the  Appalachian  highlands  on  the  easi  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains  mi  the  west. 

Four  features  <>f  the  Central  Lowland  are  of  out- 
standing prominence:  First,  it  i-  everywhere  low  and 
flat  of  surface.  Illinois  is  the  lowest  of  the  states  within 
its  bounds,  with  a  mean  elevation  above  sea-level  of  only 
600  feet;  Indiana  is  100  feel  higher;  and  Wisconsin, 
notably  higher  than  either  Illinois  or  Lndiana,  has  a 

mean  elevati f  1,050  feet.  Second,  throughoul   the 

greater  pari  of  the  Central  Lowland  the  bed  rock  is 
deeply  buried  beneath  a  mantle  of  unconsolidated 
glacial  deposits  see  Fig.  7).  Third,  the  province  is 
drained  by  two  extensive  river  systems,  the  St.  Law- 
rence on  the  east  and  the  Mississippi  on  lli<'  west. 
Fourth,  the  northeastern  pari  of  the  province  is  a  lake 
region,  being  occupied  by  thousands  of  small  glacial 
hike-,  and  by  the  Greal  Lakes,  the  largest  system  of 
fresh-water  bodies  in  llu-  world. 

In  almost  the  exacl  geographic  center  of  lliis  low- 
land is  the  region  iif  ( Ihicago.  The  si  rategic  importance 
of  its  location  i-  due  t<>  ;it  least  four  significant  facts: 
lln  the  Central  Lowland  is  probably  the  richest  agri- 
cultural belt  in  the  world,  and  in  the  center  of  it  lies  the 
region  of  Chicago.  2  The  general  flatness  of  the  Cen 
tral  Lowland  has  facilitated  the  rapid  extension  of  rail 
road  and  highway  lines  with  the  minimum  of  expense 
and  difficulty.  These  railroads  and  highways  concen 
irate  mi  Chicago  because  east-and-west  traffic  is  here 
compelled  t"  turn  southward  around  the  head  of  Lake 
Michigan,  thus  meeting  and  crossing  at  tin-  common, 
geographically  determined  focus.  (3  Here  i-  a  direct 
point  "I"  contact  between  the  lake  region  with  it-  great 
water-transportation  system  and  the  agricultural  region 
with  its  highly  developed  railroad  system  I  TheCon- 
tinental  Divide  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  St. 
Lawrence  drainage  systems  crosses  the  region  of  Chicago 
(see  drainage  map,  Plate  III  ,  Therefore  the  region  has 
the  advantages  of  both  sj  stems,  and  profits  by  whatever 

\    M    Fenneman,  "Physiographic  Divisions  of  tfii   i 


\  \  I  I   u  \l.   DIVISIONS  OF    III!     REGION    "I     CHK    \<  ■<  > 
Wli    I  III  IK   ORIGIN 

Alternating  ridges,  plain-,  ami  valleys  enter  the 
aica  at  the  north  and.  roughly  paralleling  the  -linn-  of 
Lake  Michigan,  swing  southeastward  around  tin-  head 
of  the  lake.  Tin-  st  nam-  emphasize  the  alternate  higher 
ami  lower  land  by  flowing  either  parallel  to  the  shore  of 
the  lake  or  at  right  angles  In  it.  This  -ana-  pattern  i- 
brought  out  in  the  distribution  of  soils  see  generalized 
soil  map.  Plate  l\  ;  h  is  -I  strikinglj  shown,  how- 
ever, mi  the  relief  map  Plate  Ik  ami  mi  the  glacial 
map  (Plate  I 

Si\  -mli  concentric  belts  or  zones  an-  recognized, 
ami  each  i-  discussed  in  a  separate  chapter.  They  are  as 
follows: 

1.  The  Lake  Plain 

•.'.  The  l.ak,-  Border  Upland 

:;.  The  ValparaisoUpland 

I.  The  Mante,,,,  Plain 

5.  The  Morris  Kankakee  Basin 

(i.  The  Outer  Upland 

Lake  Michigan  is  regarded  as  a  special  province,  ami  its 
description  follows  the  discussion  of  tin-  la  ml  divisions. 
How  tin-  i  ia  I  ma  I  divisions  originated,  and  what  has 
happened  to  them  up  to  the  present  i-  an  intensely 
Fascinating  story  even  In  those  who  are  not  particularly 
interested   in   geology,   because  of  the  direct    bearing 

human  affairs  today. 

ORIGIN     IND   ell  IB  Mil  l(   OF    BED   ROCK 

The  existence  in  the  Central    Lowland  of  a   -eric-  of 

strata  ,«f  limestone,  sandstone,  ami  -hah-,  containing 
marine  fossils,  indicates  that  Ihi-  part  ■>!'  the  continent 
was  in  ancient  geologic  time-  repeatedly  depressed  be 
low  sea-level  so  that  seas  -t I  over  tie  area.  For  de- 
posits to  have  accumulated  at  the  bottom  of  these  seas, 
as  thick  as  those  we  now  find  the  marine  conditions  must 
certainly  have  hail  a  duration  of  millions  <>f  year-. 


I 


\l     1917 


■ 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


Finally  the  sea  bottom  emerged  l<i  be  inundated  do 
more.  Another  vast  interval  <>f  time  elapsed,  compara- 
ble in  length  to  that  duringwhich  theregionwas  under 
the  sea.  Since  the  lifting  of  the  sea  bottom  the  centra] 
part  of  the  continent  lias  been  subject  to  erosion.  The 
uplifted  surface  was  slowly  dissected  into  valleys  and 
hills;  under  atmospheric  conditions  soils  accumulated; 
and  a  landscape  of  rugged  rock  valleys  and  ridges  was 
developed  not  unlike  that  found  al  the  presenl  time  in 
southwestern  Wisconsin. 


ORIGIN   <>F  Till.   GRI  VI'   LAKES 

This  age-long  process  of  erosion  was  interrupted  in 
recent  geological  time  by  changes  in  climate  which 
brought  on  the  Glacial  Period,  a  time  of  vast  importance 
in  the  history  of  the  region  of  Chicago.  Great  con- 
tinental glaciers,  nourished  by  persistent  snowfall, 
spread  outward  for  hundreds  of  miles  from  their  centers 
in  Canada,  and  it  is  now  definitely  established  that  the 
central  part  of  the  United  States  was  invaded  not  once 
lint   repeatedly  by  ice  sheets  from  the  north,  and  that 


III  the  Great  Lakes  region  the  rock  strata  do  not  lie 
Hat  but  dip  inward  from  all  directions  toward  the  center 
of  the  state  of  Michigan  (see  Fig.  .">>.  in  a  saucer-like 
struct  lire,  around  the  rim  of  which  one  formation  after 
another  comes  to  the  surface  (sec  Fig.  6). 

The  hardness  of  the  various  formations  in  the  Greal 
Lakes  region  is  not  the  same;  for  this  reason,  it  is  be- 
lieved, valleys  were  developed  by  erosion  in  the  softer 
rocks,  such  as  the  Devonian  shales,  and  highlands  were 
left  on  the  harder  rocks,  such  as  tin'  resistant  Silurian 
i  Niagara  l  limestone.  In  the  Devonian  outcrop,  a  north- 
south  strip  underlying  Pake  Michigan,  a  large  valley 
was  developed,  bordered  on  either  side  by  highlands  of 
Silurian  and  Mississippian  strata.  Similar  valleys  in  the 
soil  rocks,  and  highlands  on  I  he  hard  rocks,  were  de- 
veloped throughoul  the  (.real   Lakes  region. 


these  invasions  alternated  with  equally  Ion-  intervals 
when  the  region  was  ice  free.  The  most  extensive  ice 
sheet,  the  kansan.  reached  as  far  south  as  northern 
Kansas  and  Missouri.  Each  successive  readvance  after 
the  Kansan  fell  short  of  its  predecessor,  and  more  or  less 
completely  effaced  the  traces  of  earlier  glaciations. 
Though  the  region  of  Chicago  was  probably  glaciated 
repeatedly,  it  is  the  latest  invasion  of  ice,  the  Wisconsin, 
which  gave  our  area  practically  all  of  its  present  physi- 
ographic features  (see  Pig.  7).  It  occurred  so  recently, 
in  terms  of  geologic  lime,  that,  were  the  covering  of 
vegetation  Stripped  from  the  area,  the  landscape  would 
appear  very  much  as  it  did  when  the  laic  Wisconsin  ice 
sheet  receded,  perhaps  twenty-five  thousand  years  ago. 
It    is   therefore  possible  to   interpret    with   considerable 


GENERAL  I'll  YSK  ><  ,K AI'lIM     FEATURES  AND  TIIKIli  ORIGIN 


.i.il  div  isiona  ..f  the  region  of  Chicago.  I  '■  "»  foil 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


Outer-  Up/oncf 

My/ocrro/s 

o  Upland 

LolzeBorder      I^a/za 
Upland      Michigan 

■ 

^ 

Dc     p,^ i [1 1 ) \',S>1 

«o. 

1 

.^^^                   J ■       ij \lll 

! 

nTiflTntfi — i"nc 

SECTION  A-, 


Michi 


^^-S^ rr  ■ '  ;  s^PiS 


Fig.  t. — Rock  Formations  in  the  Greal  Lakes  region.  Note,  first,  how  the  rocks  dip  inward  to  form  a  saucer-like  structure;  second  li<>« 
the  lake  basins  have  been  excavated  largely  from  the  outcropping  edges  of  the  soft  rocks:  and,  third,  how  I  he-  resistance  of  the  Niagara  formation 
gives  rise  to  an  escarpment  that  separates  Green  Bay  from  Lake  Michigan  and  Georgian  Bay  from  Lake  Huron.   Similarly,  it  separates  Lake 


I'n..  .1.  -Strata  in  the  Greal  Lakes  region.  Block  diagram  indicates  the  basin  character  of  the  strata.  The  lakes  lie  chiefly 
Devonian  and  Ordovician  strata,  which  are  less  resistant  than  the  adjacent  strata.  Note  the  position  of  the  Niagara  escarpment,  i 
ing  as  the  peninsula  cutting  off  <  ieorgian  Bay,  as  Grand  Manitonlin  I.  and  as  the  Door  peninsula  cutting  off  (inni  Ua.\ . 


GENERAL  PHYSIOGRAPHIC  FEAT1  RES    WD  THEIR  ORIGIN 


The  great  ice  sheets  crepl  down  from  the  north  over 
landscape  of  major  valleys  and  divides,  already  de- 
eloped  by  prolonged  erosi f  the  bed-rock  surface, 

u.l  naturally  the  direction  of  flow  of  the  ice  was  de- 
■rmiiird  largely  by  these  major  valleys  and  divides, 
oncenl  ral  ion  of  I  he  ice  in  I  he  \  all 

>    bee e    distinctly    lobate    in    character.     Pushing 

trough  and  beyond  these  great  valleys,  the  lobes  <  1«,_ 
loyed  widely,  in  some  cases  merging  with  adjacent 
il»-s.  The  region  of  *  'hicago  was  largely  co\  ered  by  I  he 
eploying  Lake  Michigan  lobe,  but  lw>  other  lobes 
npinged  upon  it-  northern  margin  in  Wisconsin:    the 


in  t urn  corresponde  I  t"  an  outcrop  of  soft  rock  strata. 
Bach  lobe  tended  to  deepen  and  broaden  the  valley  it 
occupied,  and  the  valley  which  now  contains  Lake 
Michigan  i-  believed  i<>  have  been  deepened  500  :»>n 
feet.  The  material  thus  removed,  as  well  as  that  ob- 
aused  the  glacier  tained  farther  to  the  north,  was  carried  to  the  margin 
of  the  ice  and  there  deposited  in  the  long,  irregular 
ridges  known  as  "terminal  moraines."  Thus  the  basins 
of  the  Great  Lakes  were  formed  by  two  processes  i 
the  deepening  bj  glacial  erosion,  and  2  the  building  up 
iif  their  margins  by  glacial  deposition    see  Fig    9 

The  Great   Lakes  basins  fall  into  two  groups:      I 


,1-een  Bay  and  the  small  intermediate  Delavan  (see  Fig.     those  excavated  largely  from  the  soft  Devonian  strata, 
Each  of  these  lobes  corresponded  to  a  lowland  which     and  (2   those  excavate  I  largely  From  thesofl  Ord  ivician 


^]  Pennsy /van/an   YfflffJh  D&\/o/->fc7i 

Mississippian        \'tf]\  ^5//^nbn 
|  ]  Orc/< 


Pre  -Combrior-. 


ov/c/crn 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


strata.  The  basins  of  tli<'  groups  arc  separated  by  the 
Niagara  escarpment,  a  ridge  of  limestone  which  was  too 
resistanl  for  the  ice  to  quarry  away.  This  prominent 
ridge  swings  in  a  semicircle  all  the  way  from  eastern 
Wisconsin  to  northern  New  York  and  strikingly  em- 
phasizes the  great  saucer  of  rock  in  which  the  Greal 
Lakes  lie  (see  Fig.  5).  The  Niagara  escarpment  sepa- 
rates Green  Bay  from  Lake  Michigan,  Georgian  May 
from   Lake  Huron,  and   Lake  Ontario  from   Lake  Erie. 


lower  land  that  encircle  Lake  Michigan  and  cross  the 
region  of  Chicago. 

At  one  stage  of  the  retreat  of  the  Wisconsin  glacier, 
water  issuing  from  the  melting  fronts  of  three  adjacent 
lobes — the  Lake  Michigan,  Saginaw,  and  Erie — escaped 
through  the  lowland  now  occupied  by  the  Kankakee 
River.  The  escaping  water  entered  the  valley  of  the 
Illinois  River  in  the  vicinity  of  Morris.  Illinois,  and  fol- 
lowed this  drainage  channel  to  the  Mississippi.  A  termi- 


|:  ::.•:::!  Oreo  covered  hu  latest  r 1  area  covered  by  various The  "Drift/ess  area"  a  portion 

X :::::;  :|  glgci<jficn}  the  Wisconsin       I  I  older pre-Wisconsm  o-laciafions.  \ I  that  escaped  glacier/ on 


Pig.  7. — Glacial  map  of  the  central  pari  of  the  tinted  States.  The  region  of  Chicago  (shown  by  heavy  outline)  lies  in  the  center  of  the 
lobe-shaped  area  which  lias  been  overwhelmed  repeated^  bj  continental  glaciers.  Consequently,  the  region  is  now  deeply  buried  under 
thick  glacial  deposits.  Arrows  indicate  the  direction  of  glacial  Mow.  (Data  from  Chamberlin,  Levered.  Alden,  Todd,  and  others.) 


In  the  region  of  Chicago,  however,  the  Niagara  lime- 
stone is  deeply  buried  beneath  glacial  materials. 

At  its  maximum  extension  the  Lake  Michigan  lobe 
of  the  glacier  reached  as  far  SOUth  as  Shell  >yville,  Illinois. 
Its  retreat  was  interrupted  by  repealed  halts  and  re- 
advances.  Where  it  retreated  steadily  its  deposits  look 
t  he  form  of  a  ground  moraine,  or  t  ill  plain,  characterized 
by  level  or  gently  rolling  surface.  Where  it  hailed  or  re- 
advanced  it  piled  up  a  ridge  of  debris  under  its  edge,  a 
terminal  moraine.  Because  of  the  erratic  character  of  its 
retreat,  the  lobe  built  up  a  scries  of  plains  and  ridges, 
now  recognizable  in  the  concentric  belts  of  higher  and 


nal  moraine  which  crosses  the  Illinois  Valley  at  right 
angles  just  west  of  the  region  of  Chicago  al  Marseilles, 
known  as  the  "Marseilles  moraine,"  probably  ponded 
the  water  for  a  time,  forming  a  temporary  lake  in  the 
Morris  Basin  known  to  geologists  as  Lake  Morris.  In 
the  Indiana  portion  of  the  Kankakee  Valley  ponding 
also  appears  to  have  occurred,  giving  rise  to  shallow- 
temporary  lakes  and  marshes,  many  of  which  still  exist 
or  have  been  drained  luil  recently.  In  both  of  these 
areas,  extensive  beds  of  sand  were  deposited.  In  the  por- 
tion of  the  Kankakee  Valley  between  the  Illinois-Indi- 
ana state  line  ami  the  mouth   of  the    Kankakee  River 


GENERAL  PHYSIOGRAPHIC  FEATURES  AND  TIIKIR  <>RH.I\ 


-tri|>  away  much  of  the  glacial  moraine,  in  sonu 
ilnun  In  bed  rock.  Tlii>  glacial  outflow  lia>  been 
t  be  "Kankakee  torrenl ." 

At  last  the  ice  retreated  into 
ened  Lake  Michigan  Basin.  In  I 


i      Plaines,   Illinois,  and    Mississippi  rivers.    There  must 

9     have  been  a  low  place  in  the  moraine  ju>i  wesl  <>f  Chi- 

I      cago  through  which  the  lake  overflowed  and  ^>  initiated 

this  line  of  discharge.  The  lake  was  repeatedly  lowered, 

w  greatly  deep-     probably   through    the   cutting   down   of  this  outlet. 

«n      Finally,  as  the  ice  retreated  northward,  the  lake  ceased 

discharging  southwestward  through  the  Chicag itlet, 

underwent  a  series  of  complex  stages  thai  need  not  be 
outlined  here,  attained  itspresenl  level  and  place  of  dis 
charge  into  the  St.  Lawrence  drainage  area,  and  so  be- 
came Lake  Michigan. 


■/■ffJ^y&frv        Surface   of  La  Ice     ^-r^irrrT 

Fio  9  I  Preglacial  river  valley;  B:  Lake  Basin.  The  basin  is 
due:  Brat,  to  the  deepening  and  widening  ol  the  preglacial  river 
vallej  ,  and,  se I,  to  the  heaping  ol  -aine  about  its  margins. 


On 


iES  IN    I  III     REGION  Ol     I  HICAGO 

worthy  changes  have  occurred  since 


the  ice  sheel  completely  lefl  the  region.     I     Prominent 
|      bluffs  and  ravines  have  been  developed  along  the  laki 

fr.  »iil  between  Winnetka  and  Waukegan  by  erosi f 

the  shore  line.   (2)  Extensive  deposits  of  sand  have  been 


Fio    8     Green    Baj    and    Lake    Michigan   lobes  ol    Wi -. 

Between   the  two  large  lobes  is  the  Delavan  lobe,  in  Hi 

northwest  corner  of  the  region  ol  '  hicago.  which  is  shown  in  the  made  along  the  shore  al  the  head  of  Lake  Michigan.     3 

beavj  line.     Modified  fr U.S.  C                        <■        '  This  sand-filling  in  northern  Indiana  has  been  buill  up 

into  a  rhagnificenl  assemblage  of  dunes.   I  1   Some  of  the 

the  fronl  of  the  ice  and  the  group  of  abandoned  terminal  |arger  streams  have  deepene  I  their  valleys  to  a  min  >r 

moraines  thai  had  been  buill  around  the  head  of  the  exten1      .-,   Thepresenl  soils  have  been  formed  upon  the 

basin,  there  developed  a   lake  which   geologists   have  surface  of  the  deposits  lefl  by  the  glacier 
named  "Lake  Chicago."  At  one  time  this  lake  had  a 

level  al t  sixtj  feet  higher  than  Lake  Michigan.  In-  vegetation  of  thi   region  wso 

like  the  present  lake,  Lake  Chicago  discharged  south  Because  the  region  of  Chicago  constitutes  a  meeting 

westward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  by  way  of  the  Des     gr I  for  the  plants  of  many  regions,  the  botanical 


-      G    I     Ekblaw  and  L.  F.  Athy,  "Glacial  Kankakee  Torrent  in  Northeastern  II is,"  Bulletin  I 

WW  I    June  10    I''.1.     117    88 

■  The  Following  ;ir.-  valuable  references  dealing  with  the  vegetation  of  thi    ires     It    I     Cowles   "  Hie  Ecological  relations  ol 
tion  of .  the  Sand  Dunes  of  Lake  Michigan      /■  I  \\\ll     1809     96   111    167    80S    Wl    108    101   01 

1  •  II leorge  D.  Puller,  The  I  '  hicago, 

in.'-. 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  <>K  CHICAGO 


features 

are  < 

,f  spe 

cia 

1  interest 

.   The  natural 

v< 

■getation 

of  the  area 

may 

be 

resoh  ed 

chiefly  into 

til 

!■(■(■  com- 

ponents 

:     1  1  > 

retui 

me 

1  plant   l 

migrants  from 

tl 

ie  south- 

eastern 

pari 

ofth< 

■  I 

nited  State-  thai  had  1 

,(•( 

in  driven 

•  mi  duri 

ng  II 

te  gla 

lion:  (2) 

"hangovers" 

of 

northern 

species 

thai 

have 

pei 

■sisted  1< 

..ally  since  gl; 

ICl 

ill  times: 

and  (.'!) 

a  fev 

migi 

he  semiarid  s< 

Hit 

Invest. 

Pkolo  by  i i    D    I 

An  Dih  Forest,  n*ear  New  Lenox,  [ll  ,  Typical  of  the  Vegeta 
noN  in   i  he  Region  of  Chicago. 


:*-rv.*  "'• '-  r;-  v,  ■  . -^ 


Prickli  Peab  (Optunia  rafinesquii  .  \  Native  of  the  Ai 

west,  ts  Foi  mi  in   mi.  Swn-Di  si:  Ann  OF  Ism 

Melting  Pot  oi  \  egei  nn'\  is  the  Region 


Back  in  the  period  of  glaciation,  when  arctic  condi- 
tions prevailed  over  the  northern  part  of  the  United 
Stales,  the  refrigeration  resulted  in  a  ureal  southward 
exodus  of  plant  and  animal  life.  The  colder  temperature 

<• litions  enabled  the  plants  of  the  far  north  to  migrate 

south  to  the  centra]  part  of  the  United  States,  where 
they  replaced  the  former  vegetation  thai  had  been 
driven  into  the  southeastern  part  of  the  United  States. 
After  a  -real  lapse  of  time  the  climate  moderated,  the 


ice  began  its  withdrawal,  and  there  was  again  initiated 
a  great  migration  of  flora — this  time,  however,  north- 
ward. Unable  to  endure  the  warmer  climate,  the  north- 
ern vegetation  retreated  again  to  high  latitudes:  and  the 
vegetation  native  to  the  middle  latitudes  made  its  way 
hack  again  to  the  region  whence  it  had  been  expelled. 
At  the  present  time  these  returned  migrants  dominate 
the  region  of  Chicago.  They  include  such  well-known 
species  as  the  white  oak  (Quercus  alba),  the  red  oak 
{Quercus  rubra),  the  red  maple  (Acer  rubrum),  the  shag- 


bark  hickory  (Carya  ovata),  and  a  hosl  of  others.  In 
certain  restricted  localities,  however,  of  which  the  sand- 
dunes  region  of  northern  Indiana  affords  I  he  l>e-t 
example,   a    number   of  specie-   of   plants   from    the   far 

north  still  linger  by  virtue  of  a  favorable  environment. 

Of  this  class  excellent  examples  are  the  jack  pine  [PitlUS 
Banksiana)  and  several  other  conifers,  the  liearherry 
(Arctostaphyhs  Uva-Ursi),  the  dwarf  birch  (Betula 
ila).  and  the  cranberry  (Vaccinium  macrocarpon). 


■purrn 


■  third  strain  which  enters  into  the  floral  composi- 
f  the  area,  the  migrants  from  the  semiarid  soul  li- 
the prickly  pear  cactus  (Opuntia  Rafinesquii)  and 


GENERAL  I'll  YSM  ><,R.\rilI<     FEATURES  AND    IIIKIK  MUHilX 


the  western  reed  grass    (  alamot  Ufa  longifolia    are  g I 

examples. 

The  cosmopolitanism  of  the  vegetation  in  the  area  is 
best  displayed  in  the  sand-dune  region  of  northern 
[ndiana,  which  Professor  II.  C.  Cowles,  eminent  ;mi- 
thority  on  thai  region,  has  ;i|>lly  termed  ";i  veritable 
floral  melting  pot."  Professor  Cowles's  description  is  a 
vivid  picture  of  the  unusual  conditions  that  ther ■  m 

There  are  fe«    places  on  < «ur  continent   where  so  manj 
species  •  •!  plants  are  found  in  s,,  small  compass.    I 
pari   because  of  the  wide  diversitj   of  conditions  prevailing 


Vmong  ~ii«li  plants  of  the  <  Canadian  Fores)  and  in  mini  are  tin- 
Iwiii  Bower,  the  glandular  willow,  the  poverty  grass,  and  the 
northern  rose.  Northern  plants  are  particularly  character- 
istic "I  the  'lunc-  swamps,  and  embrace  such  interesting  species 
;i-  the  larch,  bunchberry,  dwarf  birch,  sage  willow,  numerous 


orchids,  cranberry . 
i  Kese  species  are  fo 
dune  region.1 


The  climate 
ipted  for  Inn 


leaf,  and  man} 
here  for  many  in 


region 

if. .it  a 


Many   of 


excellently 
This  is  due 


TABLE  I 
(  mm. i  nous  n  '  Hi.  igo* 


f 

J 
- 

| 

< 

, 

\ 

£ 

< 

\ 

7 

1 

; 

| 

6 

Average  maximum  temperature    Fahrenheit 
Mean  temperature 

31 
18 

1!) 

H 

Hi 

si 

I  0" 

13 
36 

■>» 

\l 
17 
68 

.'  61 

t? 

\l 
16 

■    ?8 

65 
51 
19 

M 
15 

72 

74 
67 

en 

-\\ 

1  1 

72 

BO 

m; 

-u 
12 
7-.> 

3  36 

78 
72 

m: 

1 .' 

72 

3  •-'! 

72 

65 

58 

S\V. 

14 

.'!   Il!l 

61 

.»! 

t7 
-U 

IS 

B3 
i   58 

17 
10 
14 
W. 
16 
76 
i    14 

36 

A\. ■!■;,-.■  uin.l  ,|irr.  ll.Mi 

M.P.H 
Maximum  wind  relo.  it>     M  P  II 
Mean  precipitation,  inches 

16 

till 

2  02 

sw 

16 

<,.-/;.. 


■ 


TABLl    II 

Fog-S       11.  Operations  in  the  Region  os  Cm<  igo* 

Monthly  Averages  in  Hours  for  1920  .'.">.  Inclusive 


t 

J 

- 

_ 

| 

_>• 

1 

< 

1      ■ 

g 
2 

1 
= 

1 

- 

11 
E 

< 

Waukegan 

1  [arbor 

S..iilli  <  hi. 

26 

llll 

101 

... 

75 
31 
20 

21 
65 
63 

:m 
14 

20 
65 
95 

!H 
6 

llll 

7.-. 

s 

9 
58 

1117 
7(1 

13 

7:t 
1  S8 

mi 

1 

II 

59 

121 
52 

1 

17 
ins 
812 
113 

Hi 

is 
102 
171 

117 
!> 

44 
145 

93 

.-.7 
II 

1,027 

I.IS7 

7  1  : 
70 

22 

86 

ins 
71 

Michigan  ' 

s 

6 

1  opposite  II" 


vigution.  Smoke  . 


there.  Within  a  stone's  throw  of  almost  anj  spot  one  ma.\  find 
plants  of  the  desert  and  plants  of  rich  woodlands,  plants  of  the 

pine  woods,  and  plants  of  swamps,  plants  of  oak  » Is  and 

plants  uf  the  praincs.  Species  ..f  the  most  diverse  natural 
regions  are  piled  here  together  in  such  abundance  as  to  make 
the  region  a  natural  botanical  preserve,  not  only  ..f  1 1 •« -  plants 
that  are  characteristic  ..f  northern  [ndiana,  but  also  •  •!  the 

plants  ,,f  remote  outlying  regions.   Here  maj    find  the 

prickly  pear  cactus  <>f  the  thwestern  deserl   hobnobbing 

u  ltd  the  bearberrj  of  1  In-  arctic  and  alj ■  regions.  The  com- 
monest pine  <>f  111.-  dunes,  the  jack  pine,  is  far  out  ..f  its  main 
range,  reaching  here  its  farthest  south.  One  is  almost  startled 
at  the  number  ..f  plants  of  the  far  north,  many  ..f  »  hich,  like 
the  jack  pine,  are  not  round  to  tl»-  southward  <>f  mir  dunes. 

S    I    Mather,  ti>  \*>rt  on  tin  Proposed  Stiwt  Dum*  Sti'imia!  r        I 
1       •  full  discussion  of  the  climate  of  Chicago  see  the  following  author 
titnl  f  Itnn'1  Chicago,  191 


in  an  important  degree  lu  the  fact  thai  Lake  Michigan 
exercises  an  ameliorating  influence  on  the  adjacent  land. 
Because  of  this  influence,  the  region  of  Chii 
pecially  that  part  along  the  lake,  docs  not  suffer  from 
extremes  of  intense  summer  deal  and  winter 
cold  as  do  parts  of  the  interior  of  the  continent  remote 

fr the  lake  Frequently  during  the  summer  nths 

the  lake  regi injoys  cool,  delightful  weather  while  the 

count  ry  away  from  1  he  dike 
deal .  The  summer  weal  her 
compares  favorably   with   il 
resorts. 
The 


sweltering 

11  excessive 

de  vicinitj 

of  Chicago 

of  the  bet 

er  summer 

rainfall    is   e 
Washington,  191* 
ve  public 


c  ample  througl I    the 


id  J.  II.  Vrmingt. 


PIIYSIOORAIMIY  OF  THK  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


region  of  Chicago,  amounting  on  an  average  I"  over  30 
inches  per  year.  From  I  he  standpoint  of  agricultural  re- 
quirements tliis  rainfall  is  fairly  well  distributed,  al 


1(1  inches  ordinarily  falling  during  the  growing  season  for 
crops  May.  June,  and  .July.  Drought  sometimes  oc- 
curs, thereby  preventing  maximum  crop  production;  but 


complete  crop  failure-,  such  as  frequently  befall  some 

parts  of  the  country,  arc  here  unknown. 

Chicago  is  widely  known  as  the  "Windy  City,"  but 
the  winds  thus  advertised  are  not  more  vigorous  at 
Chicago  than  at  other  points  along  the  lakes.  During 
spring  and  summer  the  winds  from  the  lake  are  most 
prevalent,  and  these  l>ritiii  in  to  the  land  a  constant  sup- 
ply of  cool,  pure  air.  The  dominant  winds  are  from  the 
southwest,  the  "Prevailing  Westerlies,"  and  from  the 
northeast  (see  wind  rose.  Kg.  10).  The  longest  periods 
of  sunshine  come  in  the  autumn,  and  Indian  summer 
may  he  seen  at  its  best  in  this  area. 

Probably  the  most  distinctive  characteristic  of  the 
climate  of  the  region  of  Chicago  is  its  changeableness. 
This  is  due  to  the  location  of  the  area  in  a  licit  that  is 
traversed  by  an  endless  succession  of  atmospheric  dis- 
turbances— cyclonic  storms,  or  '"lows"  they  are  com- 
monly called—  that  sweep  across  the  continent.  It  is  the 
passage  of  these  storms  at  intervals  of  a  few  days  that 
gives  to  the  weather  its  changing  aspects  of  heat  and 
cold,  rain  and  snow  ,  sunshine  and  cloud.  These  "spells" 
of  weather,  whatever  their  character,  are  rarely  of  long 
duration. 

It  is  not  generally  realized  that  a  climate  character- 
ized by  frequent  and  sudden  changes  of  weather  of  this 
sort  is  healthful  and  stimulating  to  a  high  degree,  and 
is  to  be  regarded  as  a  most  desirable  asset  to  a  com- 
munity. Undoubtedly  the  vigor  and  activity  which 
stamp  the  people  of  this  area  are  in  an  important  meas- 
ure attributable  to  climatic  conditions. 


Chapter  II 
THE  LAKE  PLAIN,    \  GREAT  INDUSTRIAL    \m  \ 


THK  Lake  Plain  (see  Pig.  2  includes  the  low  bell 
of  land  once  covered  by  the  waters  of  the  extinct 
Lake  Chicago.  On  it  are  located  the  sites  of 
Chicago,  Gary,  Michigan  City,  Waukegan, 
Kenosha,  Racine,  and  many  oilier  cities.  Originally  a 
continuous  province  encircling  the  lower  end  of  Lake 
Michigan,  this  plain  has  Keen  cut  away  for  a  20-mile 
stretch  between  Winnetka  and  Waukegan  bythecease 
less  erosion  of  the  waves.  Thus  separated  into  two  parts, 
tin-  Lake  Plain  ii"\\  consists  of  1  a  narrow  strip  ex 
tending  from  Waukegan  northward  to  a  poinl  5  miles 
beyond  Racine,  and  2  a  broad,  crescent-shaped  tract 
extending  from  Winnetka  southward  around  the  head 
of  the  lake  into  Michigan.  The  northern  area  is  33  miles 
long  and  has  a  maximum  width,  j  1 1  - 1  north  of  Racine, 

of  al 3  miles.  The  southern  and  much  larger  area 

is  often  referred  to  as  the  Chicago  Plain  because  upon 
this  section  the  city  of  Chicago  is  located.  Il  has  a 
width  "i'  from  Mi  to  l-*>  miles  through  most  of  il-  course 
in  Illinois,  hut  narrows  rapidly  across  Indiana,  being 
only  about  a  mile  wide  where  it  crosses  the  Indiana 
Michigan  state  line. 

Although  l<>  the  eye  1 1 •  < -  Lake  Plain  appears  very 
flat,  it-  surface  rises  imperceptibly  from  the  lake  to  its 
contact  with  the  rolling  uplands,  1 1 1 < -  total  ri-<-  amount- 
ing to  about  (in  feet.  This  remarkable  flatness,  best 
shown  in  tin-  vicinity  of  Chicago,  i>  the  most  sinking 
feature  of  the  Lake  Plain.  Probably  the  building  of  no 
other  large  city  has  Keen  attended  by  such  freedom  from 
grading  problems  as  has  that  of  Chicago.  This  situation, 
however,  has  not  been  an  unmitigated  blessing,  for  ii 
has  introduced  serious  drainage  ami  sanitation  prob- 
lems. Much  of  the  Lake  Plain  was  formerly  swamp  ami 
had  to  lie  drained  artificially  for  habitation.  An  early 
ipher  wrote.  "The  country  around  the  extreme 
south  bay  of  Lake  Michigan  has  the  appearance  of  the 

sea   marshes  of  Louisiana  " 

the  general  Hat  ness  of  t  he  Lake  Plain  is  varied  by  a 
feu  interruptions,  described  in  the  follow  ing  paragraphs. 

Sand  dunes.  In  northern  Indiana  one  of  the  great- 
est dnne  areas  known  has  been  developed  by  action  of 
wind  upon  sand  deposits  either  left  on  the  plain  by 
Lake  Chicago  or  brought  in  to  the  present  beach  by 
Lake  Michigan.  Some  of  these  sand  dunes  near  Michi- 
gan City  are  200  feet  high,  other  dimes  less  imposing 


Beverly  Hills  to  Blu 
of  Waukegan. 

Blm   Island  Ridg* 
feat  lire  on  the  Lake 


lillle      U; 


Ridge,   From 


lain  in  t he  vicinity  of  Chii 
an  isolated  ridge  7  miles  west  ,,f  the  lake,  in  the  latitude 
of  South  Chicago.   It  is  elliptical  in  form,  about  6  miles 
long,  north  ami  smith,  and  alioiil    I   mile  wide.    Il   rises, 
island  like,  about  -"'ii  80  feet  above  I  he  otherwise  nearly 


\Km  Fa<  tomes  Havi   tin  n  Ii.  n.i  ..-,  mi.  I'm  Land  in  no 

CaL!  mi  I     Vn  I   l  ol    Imii  \\  \    \\n   I 

featureless  plain:  and  al  one  time  it  was  an  island,  its 
summit  rising  10  35  feet  ab  ive  the  surface  of  Lake 
Chicagoat  its  highest  stage.  Well  borings  show  that  the 
bed  io,k  is  no  higher  under  Blue  Island  Ridge  than 
under  other  parts  of  the  plain.  Its  existence  is  apparent- 
ly due  to  a  thicker  deposit  oftheglacial  drift  her.  I 
citj  of  Blue  Island  is  located  at  its  southern  end, 
Morgan  Park  is  on  its  crest,  and  the  residential  section 
known  as  Beverly  Mills  is  near  its  northern  end 

Stony  Island,  }ns\  west  of  South  Chicago,  is  an  out- 
crop of  Niagara  limestone  that  rises  about  20  feet  above 
the  surrounding  marshy  Lake  Plain.  Il  trends  east  and 
west,  is  |  J  miles  lone;,  and  '.  mile  wide.  Stony  Island  is 

one    of    the    most     inl eresl  1 1, |  tures    ill    the 

region  of  <  Chicago.  It  is  a  dome  of  limestone,  the  strata 
of  which  are  steeply  inclined,  dipping  outwaitkvjn  all 
directions.  On  its  sides  the  grooves  and  si  ratches  made 
bj   the  overriding  glacier  may  still  be  seen.   Because  of 


12 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


these  and  other  similarly  interesting  features,  the 
Geographic  Society  of  Chicago  has  urged  the  preserva- 
tion lit'  Stony  Island  as  a  park. 

Beach  ridges  and  bars  constitute  important  features 
of  the  Lake  Plain.  There  arc  three  main  groups  of  long, 
low  ridges  thai  traverse  the  plain,  rising  in  some  cases 
as  much  as  •,'()  or  .'!()  feel  above  its  surface  and  traceable 
for  many  miles.  These  are  the  ancient  beaches  of  extinct 
Lake  Chicago.  They  are  approximately  60,  10,  and  L-'0 
feet  above  the  surface  of  Lake  Michigan  and  record  the 


are  parallel  to  the  present  shore.  On  the  Chicago  Plain 
they  converge  toward  t lie  Chicago  outlet,  and  thus 
testify  to  the  outward  flow  of  waters  at  this  point  during 
the  existence  of  Lake  Chicago. 

DRAINAGE   OF  THE   LAKE   PLAIN 

The  Lake  Plain  north  of  Waukegan  is  drained  by 
short  rivers  all  of  which  head  a  few  miles  hack  in  the 
Lake  Border  Upland.  Kenosha  and  Racine  are  located 
at  the  mouths  of  two  such  streams,  the  Pike  and  Root 


three  main  stages  of  Lake  Chicago.  They  have  been 
named  from  towns  where  their  character  is  well  shown: 
the  Glenwood,  Calumet,  and  Tolleston  stages,  respec- 
tively. Where  the  ridges  pass  through  city  sites  they 
have  in  part  been  obscured  by  grading  or  utilized  for 
their  gravel;  bu1  some  of  them  are  still  prominent 
enough  to  !»•  recognized.  The  ureal  Rose  Hill  Bar  that 
passes  southward  through  Evanston  is  followed  by 
Ridge  Avenue.  It  has  furnished  a  site  for  some  of  the 
linesi  residences  in  this  pari  of  the  city.1  Outside  of  the 
cities,  the  bars  may  usually  l>c  identified  by  the  oak 
groves  thai  mark  their  courses.  The  glacial  map  shows 
the  positions  of  the  mosl  prominent  beach  ridges  and 
bars.   North  of  Waukegan  and  in  northern  Indiana  they 


\i  manj  places  in  the  Lake  Plain  l 
slight  ridges  which  offered  the  onlj  i 
Wisconsin  Geological  and  Natural  Hi 


rivers,  respectively,  the  locations  being  chosen  deliber- 
ately because  of  the  possibilities  of  harbor  development 

which  these  rivers  offered.  Similarly,  the  location  of  Mil- 
waukee was  determined  by  the  mouth  of  the  confluent 
Meuomonce  and  Milwaukee  rivers.  Kenosha  has  never 
satisfactorily  realized  this  initial  prospect,  though  large 
sums  of  money  and  coul  iuual  effort  have  licen  expended 
in  an  attempt  to  keep  the  mouth  of  Pike  River  open  for 
navigation.  Lake  transportation  plays  practically  no 
part  in  the  present  industry  of  the  city.  Racine,  how- 
ever, developed  a  good  harbor  by  deepening  the  mouth 
of  Koot  River.  Though  for  many  years  this  harbor  was 
the  leading  factor  in  the  industrial  life  of  the  community 
its  importance  is  now  greatly  diminished. - 
avenues,  it  having  been  necessary  in  early  days  tor  vehicles  to  follow 


Bull. 


THE   LAKE   PLAIN,  A  GREAT  IMMSTIUAl.  AREA 


the   Lake    Plain   are   the  Chicago,   Calumet,   and    Des  waterwaj    From   Lake  Michigan  to  Illinois  River,  was  con- 

Plaines  rivers  structed  primarily  ;^  a  drainage  canal  i"  improve  the  sanitary 

...,  -         .       ,  ,  ,.  .,  ,,  .  condition  <>l'  the  city.    B\   ;i  reversal  <>f  the  (low  in  South 

I  he  onlv  mil  nral  dramas.'  Inn--  mi  t  he  liort  hern  part  ,    ,  .    ., 

,„   .  „.      ,    ,    ,         ,         ,        .  ,  Branch  and  the  mam  trunk  <>l  <  hie;!-,,  I{|\,  r  I  lie  whole  stream 

ol     tlic    (   hlCagO     Plain    arc    attoriled     l,v     I  lie    sluggish  ,      ,  ,     , •        ,        ,  ,•       .,     .  .     ,      ,,     . 

and  a  large  amount  of  water  drawn  directh  from  Lake  Michi- 

Chicago  River  with  it-  north  and  M.utli  branches."  Orig-  „.,„  i,,.,. ,.  i,.,i„,t-,, ,  t,,  n„-  in,, 


.11-,    lh.'  north   branch   had 


1  miles 


Mississippi  river  sys- 


Tin   I!  i  v  i  K  mi  i  Plow  ■■»    i  in    Main  Branch  01    i  mi   Chi.  100  Riven  is  toward  i  m    Pori  cum,  m>;  Joining  witi 

from  Tin    \omii  Branch,  from  thi   Left,  It  Li  P         i  tow  ah E  Right  down  Tin    - 

lin  \s,  h     \..i  i    1 111   Pollution  oi    rni    Plow  from  the  North  Branch. 

wesl  of  Highland  Park,  and  Bowed  southeastward  r.  By  repeated  dredgings  Chicago  River  and  its  branches 

miles,  while  the  south  branch  had  its  source  northeast  have  been  enlarged  to  Form  a  river  harbor. 

of  mi  in  mil  and  flowed  northeastward  through  the  pres-  Before  the  improvements  had  begun  in  l8S3on  the  present 

.•ill   citj    of  Chicago,  uniting  with  the  north  branch  a      Chicago  harbor,  there  was  a  bar  across  tl itlet  of  Chicago 

mile  from  the  lake    Thee bined  streams  flowed  east  Ri™  ul"'1'  shi.fted  ""'  """''  '"■"  '  """  iu  i"v;'."' 

,  .     , ,     ,   ,     ,,  ,    ,  i  ,.  i-  .   ■   .  position  to  a  point  opposite  the  foot  of  M  5  I 

ward  lo  tin-  lake  I  I11..11-I1  lln-  present  dounloun  district.  '  ,      ,  , 

ii  , •     ,       ,-,  ■  ■»■  present  harbor  inlet  was  formed  by  cutting  through  this  bar 

I  In-    original    drainage    ol    t  1 1.  -    <     ili-ago        urr    and    its  .  ■  ,,.,,,      ,, 

and  lo  constructing  piers  i ither  side  ol  the  i  ul     I  he  north 

I. rami,,-  has  been  greatly  modified  by  the  building  of  pier  has  been  extended  from  time  to  time  as  the  sand  accumu 

the  Chicago  Drainage  (anal.  I;,i,..|  ,„,  the  north  sid< 


William  C.  Alden,  CI  I  I    3.1 


Ibid.,  p.  1 1 


THE  LAKE  PLAIN,  A  GREAT  ENDUSTRIAL  AREA 


The  Calumet  River  is  a  curious  and  interesting 
stream  which  drains  the  part  of  the  Lake  Plain  south 
of  Chicago  and  in  northern  Indiana.  Ii-  remarkable  his- 
tory  in  illustrated  in  Figure  11.  At  one  time  tlii-  river 
entered  Lake  Michigan  near  Riverdale.  Throughoul  the 
15-mile  stretch  between  ii-  source  in  Laporte  County 
and  Riverdale  it  flowed  parallel  to  the  lake  shore  and 
only  a  tVu  mile-  from  it.  Two  well-developed  parallel 
beach  ridges  held  il  to  this  very  unusual  course.  I5ut 
tin-  constant  wave  action  kept  building  up  sand  bars 
from  the  north  across  the  mouth  of  the  river,  steadily 
shifting  the  mouth  southeastward.  At  times  of  high 
water  the  river  would  break  across  the  bar  obstructing 

it- ith,  but  a  new  liar  would  again  form  at  the  mouth 

of  the  river,  and  the  whole  process  would  be  repeated. 
Thus  there  developed  .<  -eric-  of  alternating  sand  bars 
and  lagoons,  the  lagoons  representing  channels  former- 
ly occupied  by  the  river.  Eventually  the  mouth  of  the 
Calumet   River  had  shifted  eastward  a  distance  of  II 

miles  to  a  point  north  of  Miller.  Indiana.  Such  was  the 
situation  when  white  settlement   began.    The  upper  and 

lower  part-  of  the  river  then  flowed  parallel  to  each 
other  hut  in  opposite  directions,  separated  by  a  narrow 
harrier  only  2  or  :;  mile-  wide  consisting  of  alternating 
-and  ridges  and  lagoons.  Frequently  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  north  of  Miller,  was  nearly  closed  by  -and  drift- 
Mali  changed  the  course  of  this  river,  like  that  of 
the  Chicago  River,  to  suit  hi-  purposes.  The  mouth 
north  of  Miller  was  blocked,  and  an  artificial  channel 
wa-  dug  from  the  Calumet  River  near  Hegewisch  to 
Lake  Michigan  at  South  Chicago.  Thi-  reversed  the 
How  of  the  lower  part  of  the  (  aluinet  River,  compelling 
it  to  How  westward  like  the  upper  part.  The  artificial 
channel  at  South  Chicago  was  kept  dredged,  and  small 
-termer-  were  able  to  ply  between  Chicago  and  Ham- 
mond. 


Recently  the  course  of  the  Calumet  River  was  again 
altered.  The  Sag  Channel  wa-  dug  from  the  Calumet 
River  near  Riverdale  to  the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal 
at  Sag.  As  a  consequence,  the  Calumet  River  theoret- 
ically no  longer  discharges  into  Lake  Michigan  hut 
turn- due  westward  at  Riverdale,  crosses  the  old  Con 
tinental  Divide  through  the  Sag  Channel,  and  so  passes 
int..  the  drainage  of  the  Mississippi  River  by  way  of 
the  Chicago   Drainage  Canal.    The  actual   condition, 

however,   i-  that    pari    of   the   lime    III,'    surface  water    i- 

discharged  i Lake  Michigan.  This  is  because  of  oc 

casional  II 1-  or  because  of  temporarily  lowered  lake 

level. 

The  completion  of  the  Burns  ditch  just  east  of  the 
Porter-Lake  County  line  allow-  the  excess  (low  of  the 

upper  reaches  of  the  (  'aluinet  River  to  discharge  direct- 
ly int..  Lake  Michigan  east  of  Gary,  at  time  of  flood, 
hut  normally  it  doe-  not  affect  the  current  of  the 
stream. 

Like  the  branches  of  the  Chicago  River,  those  of 
the  Calumet  have  low  gradients;  consequently  they  are 
sluggish  of  current  and  subject  to  overflow.  Thi-  con- 
dition, together  with  the  absence  of  any  valleys,  gives 
them  the  appearance  of  canals,  which  indeed  they  prac 
tically  arc  a-  a  re-uli  of  the  maiiv  changes  they  have 

under-one. 

Lake  Call -t.  Wolf  Lake,  and  Lake  George    the 

latter  now  practically  aon  existent  occupy  wry  -hal- 
low basins  between  -and  ridges  deposited  by  the  shore 
dnfi  of  Lake  Michigan.  The  basins  of  these  lakes  prob- 
ably re-ul ted  from  I  he  da  mini u-  of  a  former  hay  at  this 
point.  Lake  Calumet,  the  largest  of  the  lakes,  ha-  an 
area  of  ahoul   .'!  square  miles.    A  channel  links  Calumet 

and  Wolf  lakes  with  Calumet  River.  It  ha-  been  pro- 
posed that  Lake  Calumet  be  deepened  ami  converted 
int.,  a  harbor. 


Chapter  III 

THE  LAKE  BORDER  UPLAND,  A  RESIDENTIAL  AND 
RECREATIONAL  AREA 


WEST  of  the  Lake  Plain  lie  the  Lake  Border 
Upland,  the  Valparaiso  Upland,  and  the 
Oiilcr  Upland,  each  consisting  of  a  series  of 
terminal  moraines  successively  deposited 
mainly  by  the  Lake  Michigan  lobe  of  the  Wisconsin 
glacier.  These  three  provinces  are  distinct  from  one 
another  in  t lie  central  part  of  the  region  of  Chicago,  but 
when  traced  northward  they  merge  into  a  continuous 
upland  (see  Fig.  2). 

The  Lake  Border  Upland  is  an  elongated  province 
five  to  fifteen  miles  wide  whose  main  body  extends 
from  the  cities  of  Des  Plaines  and  Winnetka  northward 
beyond  the  limit  of  the  region  of  Chicago  and  has  a 
hint;.  Hat  extension  to  the  south  reaching  as  far  as  Oak 
Park.  From  Winnetka  to  Waukegan  the  province  is 
bounded  on  the  east  by  conspicuous  lake  Muffs,  LOO 
feet  high  in  places,  that  rise  abruptly  from  the  present 
shore  of  Lake  Michigan.  Hence  I  he  name  Lake  Border 
Upland.  North  of  Waukegan  these  bluffs  are  alisent 
and  a  narrow  strip  of  the  Lake  Plain  separates  the  up- 
land from  Lake  Michigan.  Three-fourths  of  the  western 
margin  of  the  province  lies  along  the  valley  of  the  Des 
Plaines  River  and  that  of  its  tributary,  Mill  Creek. 

The  surface  of  the  Lake  Border  Upland  varies  from 
(10  to  over  200  feet  above  Lake  Michigan.  Its  topog- 
raphy is  characterized  by  a  scries  of  parallel  north-south 
ridges,  terminal  moraines,  separated  by  narrow  strips  of 
ground  moraine  (see  glacial  map).  The  alternation  of 
these  ridges  ami  Hats  produces  a  gently  rolling  surface 
that  contributes  greatly  lo  the  scenic  charm  of  this 
region.  Though  usually  very  distinct,  the  ridges  at 
places  coalesce  or  divide  so  thai  the  total  number  is  not 
everywhere  I  he  same.  Usually  three  may  he  recognized 
in  Illinois  and  four  in  Wisconsin.  The  ridges  vary  great- 
ly in  width  and  height,  those  farthest  from  the  lake 
being  the  wider  and  higher.  The  crests  of  t  he  ridges  rise 
and  fall  In  low  swells,  and  the  western  slopes  are 
usually    narrower    and    consequently    sleeper    than    the 

eastern.  The  ridge  next   the  lake  is  fron •  to  four 

lake  level  and  35  to  (1(1  feel   above  the  valley  wesl   of  it. 


The  southern  end  of  this  ridge,  at   Winnetka.  has  been 

.ut  off  by  the  lake. 

Il  has  apparently  had  its  entire  east  -lope  and  a  portion 
iif  the  crest  removed  by  the  lake,  there  being  a  descent  im- 
mediately In,.,,  the  I, luff  on  the  lake  lo  the  slough,  which  lies 
west  of  Hie  ridge.  Following  the  ridge  north  lo  Highland  Park 
I  In-  crest  ami  east  slope  appear.1 

A  series  of  sleep  ravines,  most  of  which  are  less  than 
a  mile  long,  extend  hack  into  Hie  moraine  between 
Winnetka  and  Waukegan.  Until  recently  bluff  and 
ravines  were  in  a  state  of  active  erosion,  hut  this  condi- 
tion has  been  largely  stopped  by  landowners  who  have 
developed  fine  home  grounds  along  the  shore. 

A  moraine  in  northern  Indiana  which  belongs  In  this 
upland  extends  from  a  point  near  Dune  Park  eastward 
and  northeastward  into  Michigan.  The  city  of  Chester- 
ton lies  just  south  of  its  western  end,  and  Michigan  City 
lies  between  it  and  the  lake.  Although  its  average  width 
is  scarcely  a  mile  and  it  is  inconspicuous  through  much 
of  il  s  course,  it  divides  the  drainage  district  of  I  he  Calu- 
met River  from  that  of  Trail  Creek  and  causes  the  two 
streams  to  flow  parallel  to  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan 
for  some  miles  (see  drainage  map). 

The  streams  of  the  Lake  Border  Upland  lie  in  the 
troughs  between  the  ridges,  and  thus  parallel  one 
another  except  at  points  where  they  turn  at  right  angles 
and  flow  through  gaps  they  have  cut  in  the  moraines. 
This  province  is  drained  chiefly  by  the  headwaters  of 
Hie  Root,  Pike,  and  Des  Plaine,  rivers,  and  by  Hie 
north  branch  of  the  Chicago  River. 

The  glacier  left  drainage  conditions  very  much  dis- 
turbed, and  not  nearly  all  of  the  many  depressions  oc- 
curring on  Hie  Lake'  Border  Upland  have  yel  been 
drained,  either  naturally  or  artificially.  Consequently 
(here  are  a  lew  lakes  and  ponds  and  great  areas  of 
marsh  occupying  elongated  tracts  between  the  moraines. 
One  of  the  most  typical  and  extensive  of  these  is  a 
marsh  known  as  the  Skokie.  which  lies  about  \\  miles 
west  of  the  lake  shore  between  Winnetka  and  Highland 
Park. 


-,/  Sliilc.i  <;,nl„i,in,l  . 


THE  LAKE  BORDER   UPLAND 


1  BJ  s  '"    ""    upland  IV Winnetka  to  Waukegan.   Residential  towns  are  al- 

Mucli  of  the  upland  is  a  rich  farm-and-dairy  coun-      si  continuous  to  the  Wisconsin  line,  and  thousands 

i  ry.    In  recenl  years  it  has  become  a  Favorite  residential      of  Chicago  con ters,  served  by  the  electric  and  -I  cm  in 

ad  recreational  section     Vreas  have  been  set  aside  by  railroads,   now    nave  their  homes   in   such    residential 

he  Foresl    Preserve  Commissioners  of  Cook  and  ad-  towns  as   Winnetka,   Glencoe,    Highland    Park,   High- 

icenl  counties  for  the  preservation  of  the  growth  of  wood,  Fori  Sheridan,  Lake  Forest,  Lake  Bluff,  North 

ative  trees  which  is  exceptionally  rich  over  the  upland,  Chicago,  and  Waukegan,  most  of  which  municipalities 

ml  which  was  being  rapidly  destroye  I  until  the  Foresl       are 6 100 feel  higher  than  the  Lake  Plain  al  Chicago. 

reserve  districts  began  their  acquisiti f  land.  The  Picturesque  bluffs,  trenched  by  ravines,  and  the  high 

isl  few  years  have  witnessed  a  remarkable developmenl  rolling  upland  with  its  wealth  of  trees  make  this  section 


Chapter  IV 

THE  CHICAGO  OUTLET,  THE  GREAT  PASS  TO  THE 
MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY 


TIIK  Chicago  outlet  (see  Fig.  2)  leaves  the  Lake 
Plain  by  two  branches,  separated  by  the  tri- 
angular-shaped elevation  known  as  Mount  For- 
est Island.  These  branches  unite  at  Sag  into  a 
single  valley  which  cuts  southwestward,  bisecting  into 
north  and  south  parts  the  Valparaiso  Upland,  the 
Manteno  Plain,  the  Morris  Basin,  and  the  Outer  Up- 
land. The  cities  of  Joliet  and  Morris  are  located  in  the 

outlet. 

The  branch  of  the  outlet  that  lies  south  of  Mount 
Foresl  Island  is  known  as  the  Sat;,  and  is  smaller  than 
the  other  branch.  At  one  stage  during  which  the  Sag 
carried  water  from  bake  Chicago,  it  was  itself  divided 
at  its  eastern  end  by  bane's  Island,  an  elevation  on 
which  the  village  of  Worth  is  now  located. 

The  main  channel  of  the  outlet  lies  to  the  north  of 
Mount  Forest  Island.  From  Summit  to  Joliet  it  is  a 
steep-sided,  flat-bottomed  valley,  from  \  to  \\  miles 
wide,  and  20  70feet  deep,  [n  places  the  limestone  bluffs 
are  vertical  or  overhanging.  Along  most  of  this  stretch 
the  glacial  drift  is  stripped  away  and  the  outlet  is  cut 
down  to  the  lied  rock  or  even  into  it.  Helow  Joliet  the 
outlet  loses  its  valley  character  as  il  widens  into  the  flat 
Morris  basin.  In  this  lower  stretch,  which  is  as  much  as 
.5  miles  in  width,  the  removal  of  glacial  material  was  less 
complete,  and  little  erosion  of  bed  rock  took  place.  In  I  he 
Morris  Basin  the  northern  margin  of  the  outlet  is 
marked  by  the  prominent  bluff  now  followed  by  another 
"Ridge  road"  (now  Stale  Highway  No.  ?),  hut  its 
southern  margin  is  ill  defined  and  must  l>e  arbitrarily 
draw  ii. 

Where  the  Chicago  outlet  leaves  the  bake  Plain 
near  Summit  it  is  only  IS  feet  above  the  level  of 
bake  Michigan.  Between  the  divide  at  Summit  and  the 
town  of  bemonl  the  slope  is  so  slight  that  this  stretch 
is  known  as  the  "12-mile  level."  From  Lemonl  south- 
westward,  however,  the  descent  is  more  abrupt,  there 
being  a  90-fool  drop  in  the  25  miles  between  Lemonl 
and  the  head  of  the  Illinois  River,  thus  bringing  the 
bottom  of  the  outlet  aboul   7:>  feel   below  the  level  of 

bake  Michigan.    Most   of  this  fall  occurs  in   tin-  "rapids 

sect  ion"  of  less  I  han  ten  miles  between  Romeo  and  Joliet . 

Illinois  Geological  Survey,  Hull.  11.  p.  \.  '  Ibid.,  p.  56. 


The  Outlet  River  found  the  preglacial  valley  which 
it  adopted  partly  tilled  with  outwasb  gravels  deposited 
during  the  retreat  of  the  ice.  This  gravel  filling  it  largely 
cut  away,  hut  remnants  persist  as  terraces  extending 
along  the  border  of  the  valley  from  Romeo  southward. 
In  the  upper  part  of  the  valley  some  of  the  crests  of  these 
terraces  are  as  much  as  100  feet  above  the  river,  hut  in 
the  lower  part  their  elevation  is  about  half  as  great, 
between  Joliet  and  the  head  of  the  Illinois  occur  several 
island-like  mounds,  remnants  of  this  former  filling. 

The  Chicago  outlet  is  now  occupied  by  the  lower 
part  of  the  Des  Plaines  River  and  the  upper  part  of 
the  Illinois  River.  It  is  also  traversed  by  two  canals: 
the  Illinois-Michigan  Canal  and  the  Chicago  Drainage 
Canal.  Tributary  to  the  latter  is  the  Calumet-Sag 
Channel,  so  called  because  it  connects  the  Calumet 
River  with  the  main  drainage  canal  through  the  Sag 
branch  of  the  outlet. 

DES   PLAINES   RIVER 

"The  Des  Plaines  issues  from  a  flat  swamp  or  slough 
near  the  boundary  of  Racine  and  Kenosha  Counties. 
Wisconsin,  where  drainage  is  so  imperfect  that  in  wet 
weather  part  of  the  marsh  discharges  northward  to 
Root  River."1  From  its  head  it  trends  southward  be- 
tween two  moraines  of  the  bake  border  Upland  and 
drains  a  long,  narrow  basin  90  miles  long  and  rarely 
more  than  1.5  miles  wide.  Its  most  important  tributaries 
are  Salt  Creek  and  On  Page  River,  both  of  which  flow 
parallel  to  each  other  and  to  the  Des  Plaines  itself  for 
a  long  distance. 

North  .if  Maywood  (he  Des  Plaines  River  emerges 
upon  the  bake  Plain.  "Extending  its  mouth  out  on  the 
flat  plain  south  of  Riverside  ....  the  Des  Plaines 
seems  to  have  had  a   free  choice  between   a   course  to 

the  Mississippi  or  to  the  St.  Lawrence."2 

"So  flat  is  the  plain  at  this  point,"  remarks  (iold- 
Ihwait,  "that  the  escape  of  the  Des  Plaines  from  t  he 
lake  plain  westward  through  the  deep  notch  in  the 
moraine  seems  highly  accidental."1  In  fact, 
a  well  defined  slough,  formerly  known  as  .Mud  Lake,  leads 
eastward  to  the  south  branch  »<i  the  Chicago  River.  It  marks 
'  Ibid.,  ...  .".. 


THE  ( UK  A<-()  OUTLET 


the  Des  Plaines  during  II Is.   Here  was  the  old  [ndian  p.  r- 

tage,  where  Marquette  and  other  earlj  explorers,  at  the  time 

of  ;i  ~-| j r-i 1 1 ii   freshet,  could   paddle  their  canoes  fr Lake 

Michigan  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Illinois.  It  is  ool  at  all 
improbable  that  al  one  time  the  Des  Plaines  River  discharged 
wholl)  through  this  slough,  into  Lake  Michigan.  It  so,  its 
southwestward  course  .  ...  is  a  very  recenl  one.' 

At  Summit  the  Des  Plaines  turns  westward  and 
imu  confined  in  an  artificial  channel,  crosses  the  "12- 
mile  level"  through  the  Chicago  outlet.  The  discrep 
ancj  between  the  magnitude  of  this  valley  and  the  small 
size  of  the  stream  which  now  enters  it  i-  one  of  the  mosl 
interesting  physiographic  features  in  this  pari  of  the 
country.  Goldthwail  pictures  vividly  the  situation 
which  resulted  after  the  disappearance  of  the  Outlel 
River:  "In  place  >>t'  the  greal  river  whose  volume  was 
perhaps  comparable  to  that  of  the  St.  Clair  River  today 
was  left  the  little  IV-  Plaines,  a  stranger  in  the  district, 
which  straggled  into  the  greal  valley  as  if  by  accident."5 

Al  Romeo  the  river  reaches  the  upper  end  of  a 
-eric-  of  rapids  which  lower  il  80  feel  in  I  In-  in  miles  be- 
tween this  point  and  "Lake  Joliet."  Through  the  wesl 
side  of  Joliet  the  river  is  artificially  confined,  bul  im- 
mediately below  the  city,  al  Brandon's  Bridge,  il  ex- 
pands to  till  Lake  Joliet,  a  depression  probably  formed 
by  the  Outlel  River  at  the  poinl  where  it  crossed  from 
the  resistant  Niagara  limestone  t<>  the  softer  and  more 
easilj  eroded  Richmond  formation.  Lake  Joliel  is  ■"> 
miles  long,  about    in  feel  deep,  and  lies  75  feel  below 

Lake  Michigan.  At  Channal the  Des  Plaines  is  joined 

by  the  Du  Page,  and  immediately  below  their  junction 
there  occurs  another  expansion,  "Lake  Du  Page." 
Haifa  mile  farther  downstream  il  joins  the  Kankakee 
The  poinl  of  confluence  of  these  rivers  is  taken  a-  the 
head  of  the  Illinois  River. 

ILLINOIS  l!l\  i  R 

The  Hlinois  i-  the  master-stream  of  the  region  of 
Chicago,  receiving  the  water-  of  all  of  the  important 
rivers  with  the  exception  of  the  few  that  dram  east- 
ward ml"  Lake  Michigan.  It  is  commonly  divided  into 
two  sections,  the  upper  Hlinois  and  the  lower  Dlinois, 
the  poinl  of  division  being  the  greal  bend  near  Henne- 
pin, where  the  river  abruptly  turn-  southward.  The 
two  sections  are  radically  different.  Tin-  upper  Dlinois, 
63  miles  in  length,  has  a  steep  gradient,  flows  largely 
over  bed  rock,  and  excepl  in  the  Hal  Morris  Basin 
occupies  a  valley  thai  has  steep  rock  bluffs  averaging 
1  \  miles  apart.  Thisisa  postglacial  course  along  which 
the  river  i-  -till  busily  excavating  a  channel.  The  lower 
llliniii-.  about  200  miles  long,  has  a  very  low  gradient, 
i-  ii< il  excavating  in  bed  rock,  and  wander-  aimlessly 
,..  81.  / ■    ■  .  p.  56. 


over  a  flood  plain  2  •">  miles  wide     a  preglacial  course 
much  older  than  the  course  of  the  upper  Illinois. 

Only  a  20-mile  stretch  al  the  head  of  the  Illinois 
lies  in  the  region  of  Chicago,  but  according  to  L.  K. 
( looley,  of  the  Drainage  and  Water  Supply  <  'ommission 
cit'  Chicago  (the  organization  which  preceded  the  Sani 
tary  District  of  Chicago  .  it-  major  tributaries  have 
part  or  all  of  their  drainage  basins  in  the  region  of  Chi- 
cago, and  these  contribute  over  a   third  of  the  total 


Loi  k-  i\  mi.  <  'in.  \,..i  Dbaixage  Canal,  New  i 
Pari  oi   mi   In  inois  W 

The  drainage  basins  of  these  tributarii 
lowing  area-: 


-  have  fol 


Des  Plaines   River  including   the   l>u   Page 

River,  326  sq.  mi.  I   393 

Kankakee  River  5,146 

Aux  Sable  Creek  218 

Mazon  Creek  540 

Fox  River  I  ?00 

Total  9,996 

Owing  l"  a  reversal  "t'  flow  through  the  canal-  of 
the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago,  all  of  the  drainage 
from  the  Chicago  River  watershed  of  226  square  miles 
i-  tributary  t<>  the  Illinois  River,  A  portion  of  the  run- 
off up  t"  2,400  en.  ft.  per  second  in  storms  bul  ordi- 
narily 700  cu.  ft.  per  second  from  the  Calumel  water- 
shed of  690  square  miles  also  reaches  the  Illinois. 

Despite  the  general  narrowness  of  the  upper  Illinois 
Valley  si  "I  its  course  across  the  region  ■>)  Chicago 

i-    broad    and    Hal       \t     it-    head,    tin Ilileiiee    of    the 

Kankakee   and    I  )e-    I'laine-    rivers,        ale    n-e-    a    -leep 

bluff  120  feel  high  on  the  north  side  known  as  Dresden 

I  -  a 


40 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


Heights:    this    is 
moraine,  a  sectioi 


lie  (I: 


CANALS 

The  Illinois-MichigaD  Canal,  built 
and  1848,  extends  from  the  south  brancb 
River  southwestward  through  the  outle 


the    Minooka 


etween  1886 
F  the  ( Jhicago 
a  distance  of 


The  Chicago  Drainage  Canal  was  made  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  growing  city  of  Chicago,  as  a  means  of 
sewage  disposal.  This  dual-purpose  sanitary  and  ship 
canal  reversing  the  flow  of  the  sewage-laden  Chicago 
River  into  the  Illinois  watershed,  begun  in  1892  and 
completed  in  1900.  was  excavated  through  the  Chicago 
outlet  between  the  old  canal  and  the  Des  Plaines  River. 


- 


nearly  LOOjmiles,  entering  the  Illinois  River  al  La  Salle. 

Originally  it'was  6  feel  deep,  60  feel  wideal  the  surface, 

and  .'iiij'cd  wide  al  the  bottom  in  earth,  and   ts  feel 

wide  in  rock.  Al  the  divide  its  summil  level  was  8  feel 

above  the  low  water  level  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  al  its 

termination  it  was  150  feel  lower.   Four  locks,  two  al 

Lockporl   and  two  at   Joliet,  were  necessitated  by  the     and  where  in  rock,  160  feet.1 

steep  gradient  along  this  section.    In  time  this  .anal  fell       The  declivity  is  I  foot  in  10.0(1(1  feel  In  the  Section  a 

into  disuse  largely  as  a   result    of  railroad  competition,       Willow  Springs,  and   1   fool   in  -JO. 000  feet  below,  g 

and  now   along  nine],  of  its  length  it   is  little  more  Mian       : al  fall  from  the  head  of  Robey  Street   to  the 

a  ditch.  trolling  works  al   Lockport  of  about  .">',  feet. 

i  Illinois  Geological  Survey,  Bull.  11,  p  8. 


Its  length  From  the  west  Fork  of  the  Chicago  river  at 
Robey  Street  to  the  controlling  works  at  Lockport  was 
twenty  eight  miles.  Of  this  a  little  more  than  half  (the  fifteen 
miles  between  Willow  Springs  and  Lockport)  was  cut  through 
rock,  \lm\e  Willow  Springs  the  channel  was  sunk  wholly  in 
unconsolidated  beds,  mainly  glacial  drift.  The  depth  of  the 
canal  is  -'t  Feet,  it-  bott width,  when'  in  earth.  202  feet, 


THE  (  IIK  A(.<)  OUTLET 


The  Calumet-Sag  Channel,  a  feeder  for  the  fore- 
going, was  "Iult  along  the  line  of  the  old  feeder  for  the 
Illinois-Michigan  Canal.  It  was  begun  in  1911,  com- 
pleted in  1922,  inn!  i  a  i  i'ik  I  -  IV the  Calumet  River  near 

Riverdale  through  the  Sag  Valley  to  the  main  drainage 


GEOGRAPHK     SIGNIFICANCE     OF  TH1     CHICAGO  OUTLET 

Through  this  channel,  carved  thousands  of  years  ago 
by  a  river  now  extinct,  there  passes  a  full  and  ceaseless 
stream  of  human  activity.  Providing  as  it  does  a  nat- 
ural r- ■  1 1 1 1  <  ■  connecting  the  Greal  Lakes  region  with  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  this  valley  is  one  of  the  greatest 
natural  passes  in  our  country.  Our  more  admirably 
adapted  for  man's  purposes  could  hardly  have  been 
designed  by  man  himself.  It-  industrial  significance  lie- 
in  the  fact  that  the  <  "mil inental  Divide  along  tin-  valley 
is  onlj  15  feel  above  the  surface  of  Lake  Michigan, 
whereas  the  nexl  lowest  point  on  the  divide  is  al  Fori 
Wayne,  In, liana,  and  is  fully  190  feet  above  the  lake. 
"No  wonder  that  the  idea  of  an  artificial  channel  near 
/    f..  p.  i 


Chicago,  to  join  the  lakes  with  the  Mississippi,  was  con- 
ceived by  Louis  Joliet,  ■  of  the  first  [white]  men  to 

cross  the  divide."1  Long  a  favorite  mute  with  the 
Indians  and  early  explorers,  the  outlet  came  to  a  fuller 
utilization  with  the  settlement  of  the  interior  and  the 
growth  of  Chicago.  The  Illinois-Michigan  Canal,  the 
Chicago  Drainage  Canal,  the  Chicago  and  Alton  Rail- 
road, the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  IV  Railroad,  and 
an  arterial  highway  all  chose  a  route  southwestward 
from  Chicago  through  the  nutlet.  The  railroads  and 
highway  I li n-  avoid  the  grades  otherwise  necessitated 
in  passing  over  the  Valparaiso  Upland.  Where  the  nut- 
let widens  below  Juliet .  other  highways  and  railroads 
pas-  through  or  across  it.  Along  the  outlet  cities  have 
-row ii  up  that  are  largely  dependent  on  these  hue-  of 
transportation. 

Despite  this  great  development  it  is  obvious  that  the 

fullest  utilization  of  the  <  !hicag itlel  is  -till  far  from 

being  realized.  Plans  are  under  waj  for  a  navigable 
waterway  which  will  enable  barges  to  pass  from  Lake 
Michigan  to  the  Mississippi  River. 


Chapter  V 
THE  VALPARAISO  UPLAND,  A  CONTINENTAL  DIVIDE 


THE  Valparaiso  Upland  is  a  broad,  elevated  bell 
of  land  which,  to  borrow  the  descriptive  figure 
employed  by  Dr.  T.  ('.  Chamberlin  almost  a 
half-century  ago,  "may  belikened  toan  immense 
U.  embracing  the  great  lake  between  its  arms"  (see 
Fig.  L2).  It  is  designated  by  the  name  Valparaiso  after 
the  city  of  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  located  on  a  prominent 
part  of  ii,  and  because  geologists  have  long  applied  this 
name  to  the  moraine  which  forms  its  greater  bulk.  The 
Wisconsin  section  of  the  upland  includes  part  of  the 
moraines  deposited  by  the  small  Delavan  lobe  and  a 
very  small  part  of  those  deposited  by  the  Green  Bay 
lobe  (see  Fig.  8),  but  the  greater  part,  that  trending 
through  Illinois  and  Indiana,  was  deposited  by  the 
Lake  Michigan  lobe,  and  is  the  most  prominent  of  the 
moraines  attributed  to  this  lobe. 

On  its  lakeward  side  this  province  is  bordered  by  the 
Lake  Border  Upland,  except  in  the  middle  where  it  is  in 
direct  contact  with  the  Lake  Plain.  On  its  outer  margin 
it  is  hounded  (1)  by  the  Morris-Kankakee  Basin  from 
near  the  Illinois-Indiana  line  east;  (2)  by  the  Manteno 
Plain  from  the  state  line  northwestward  to  the  vicinity 
of  Elgin;  and  (3)  by  the  Outer  Upland  from  Elgin  north- 
westward into  Wisconsin.  South  of  Elgin  its  outer  mar- 
gin is  fairly  distinct  because  of  its  contact  with  two 
lowlands;  but  north  of  Elgin  the  boundary  between  the 
two  uplands  must  be  somewhat  arbitrarily  drawn,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Valparaiso  Upland  Lake  Border  Upland 
contact. 

West  of  Chicago  the  Valparaiso  Upland  is  crossed 
by  the  Chicago  outlet  and  literally  cut  in  two.  Mount 
Forest  Island,  which  is  isolated  by  the  branches  of  the 
outlet,  is  pari  of  the  upland;  and  at  this  point  the  east- 
ern margin  of  the  upland  is  farthest  from  Lake  Michi- 
gan, being  13  miles  away  in  a  line  directly  through 
Chicago.  The  upland  is  widest  in  the  northern  portion. 
being  25  miles  in  width  through  the  middle  of  Walworth 
County.  Southward  in  Illinois  it  narrows  to  the  Chi- 
cago outlet:  and  throughout  the  80-mile  course  from 
the  outlet  southeastward  to  Valparaiso  it  has  a  uniform 
width  of  from  12  to  1.*)  miles.  At  Valparaiso  it  narrows 
abruptly  to  less  than  half  this  width,  and  north  of 
Laporte,  Indiana,  it  is  only  4  miles  across. 

The  relief  of  this  province  is  great,  amounting  to 

'  Handbook  of  Indiana  Geology,  |>.  1 1  i. 


fully  4.50  feet.  In  general,  the  outer  margin  is  higher 
than  the  inner,  although  this  relation  is  reversed  east  of 
Valparaiso.  The  northern  portion  is  much  the  highest. 
most  of  it  being  over  800  feet  above  tide,  two  points  in 
northwestern  Cook  County  and  large  areas  in  McIIenry 
County  being  over  900  feet.  In  Walworth  County,  Wis- 
consin, is  found  the  highest  point  in  the  region  of  Chi- 
cago, a  hill  .">  miles  north  of  Williams  Bay  that  reaches 
an  elevation  of  1,140  feet  above  sea-level,  about  560  Feel 
above  Lake  Michigan.  The  middle  portion  of  the  up- 
land is  fairly  uniform  in  height,  its  crest  varying  from 
700  to  750  feet  above  tide  and  reaching  S00  feet  only 
in  eastern  Will  County,  at  the  village  of  Monee  on  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad.  The  narrow  portion  east  of 
Valparaiso  is  notably  higher,  its  crest  reaching  an  alti- 
tude of  885  feet  above  tide  in  Laporte  County.1 

Like  the  other  two  uplands  this  province  is  a  sysl  em 
of  narrow,  more  or  less  parallel  ridges  separated  In- 
lower  tracts.  On  the  glacial  map  (sec  Plate  Ii  the  differ- 
entiation of  the  upland  into  its  moraines  and  inter- 
morainal  tracts  has  been  indicated  as  fully  as  geologists 
have  carried  this  analysis  to  date.  In  areas  where  such 
detailed  study  has  not  yet  been  made,  the  moraines 
have  been  mapped  as  "undifferentiated  Valparaiso." 
Eventually,  with  the  progress  of  detailed  mapping,  it 
will  be  possible  to  locate  and  name  all  of  the  small 
moraines. 

As  compared  with  the  adjacent  Lake  Border  Up- 
land, the  Valparaiso  Upland  exhibits,  on  the  whole,  a 
surface  of  far  more  diversity.  This  is  because  the  mo- 
raines which  it  bears  show  a  wide  variety  of  outline,  ar- 
rangement, and  contour,  being  usually  less  symmetrical 
and  regular  than  those  on  the  Lake  Border  Upland. 

The  northern  portion  is  exceptionally  rugged  and 
irregular,  and  exhibits  better  than  any  other  part  of  the 
region  of  Chicago  that  peculiarity  of  morainal  deposits, 
"knob  and  kettle  topography,"  a  surface  characterized 
by  rounded  hills  and  intermediate  undrained  depres- 
sions. These  depressions  are  of  great  interest  and  have 
originated  in  several  different  ways:  through  (1)  the 
damming  of  stream  valleys;  (2)  the  irregular  piling  up 
of  glacial  drift  l>y  the  ice,  giving  rise  to  hills  and  de- 
pressions; and  (.'!)  the  melting  of  isolated  blocks  of  ice 
that  had  been  surrounded  or  buried  by  glacial  deposits. 


THE  VALPARAISO  I  I'LAM) 


Many  of  these  depressions  are  now  occupied  by  lakes 
and  marshes  and  others  were  For rly  so  occupied,  hav- 
ing been  filled  or  drained.  This  is  pre-eminently  the 
lake  region  of  Illinois  and  southern  Wisconsin,  the  total 
number  of  lakes  in  Walworth,  Racine,  Kenosha,  Mc- 
Henry,  and  Lake  counties  running  into  the  dozens.  In 
southeastern  Wisconsin  from  12  t<>  15  per  cenl  of  the 
land  area  is  revered  with  lakes,  marshes,  or  land  for- 
merly covered  «  iili  lakes  and  marshes.'  Among  the  bet- 
ter-know n  lakes  are  the  Oconomowoc  lakes,  Lake  Dela- 
van,  Lake  ('(iino.  Lake  Geneva,  Wind  Lake,  Lake  Eliza- 
beth, and  Silver  Lake  iii  Wisconsin;  and  Lake  Marie, 
Grays  Lake.  Fox  Lake,  Pistakee  Lake,  Lou-  Lake,  and 
Lake  Zurich  in  Olinois.  Of  these  Lake  Geneva  is  the 
largest,  having  a  length  of  8  miles,  a  maximum  width 
of  2  miles,  and  a  depth  of  I  12  feel  Mosl  of  the  other 
lakes  are  [ess  than  IS  feel  in  depth.  All  of  them  having 
become  or  an-  becoming  busy  summer  resorts,  and 
many  permanent,  year-round  residences  are  being  limit 
on  their  shores. 

A>  the  glacial  map  indicate-,  the  morainal  ridges 
north  of  the  Wisconsin  line  are  peculiarly  arranged  in 
two  sets:  I  I  those  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  upland. 
trending  north  and  south;  (2  a  group  of  curving  mo- 
raines that  branch  off  southwestward  from  the  first  sel 
and  almost  at  right  angles  to  them.  Their  courses  form 
a  marked  eontra-t  with  the  prevailing  trend.  These 
moraines  are  those  of  the  -mall  Delavan  lobe  that 
ton, icd  between  the  Lake  Michigan  lobe  and  the  Green 
Hay  lobe  (see  Fig.  8  probably  in  response  to  a  pre- 
existing lowland  at  this  point.  Thrown  across  pre- 
glacial  valleys,  they  constituted  dams  which  produced 
Lakes  Geneva,  Delavan.  and  Como,  the  Bnesl  in  south- 
eastem  Wisconsin. 

In  northern  Illinois  the  moraines  form  a  composite 
mass,  or  "moramal  complex."  extremely  difficult  to 
analyze;  nevertheless.  ;,  pronounced  north-south  tend- 
ency may  Le  recognized  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
ridges. 

In  the  middle  portion  of  the  Valparaiso  Upland  the 
topography  is  far  more  subdued  than  in  the  northern, 
being  gently  rolling  in  character.  Locally,  as  at  West 
Chicago,  the  "knob  and  kettle"  topography  does  occur. 
Inil  for  the  most  pari  the  knolls  ami  depressions  are 
not  prominent.  The  morainal  ridges  arc  generally  low 
and  not  infrequently  HI  defined.  Swamps  and  ponds  arc 
common  bul  lakes  are  rare 

(>,,  Mounl  Foresl  Island  the  surface  is  vei 
the  knolis  ami  hollows  having  a  range  of  over  50  feci. 
Ponds  an-  abundant.  Much  of  this  area  is  now  in  the 
Cook  County  Foresl  Preserve  of  Palos  Park,  and  the 
features  are  th lis  preserved  in  their  natural  state.  From 
the  Indiana-Illinois  line  eastward  to  Valparaiso  three 

ll  '         ;".i/  and  Xalural  II  Bull.  58,  p.  Hi. 


crests  an-  recognizable,  I  he  mosl  southerly  of  these  being 
weaker  than  the  other  two  and  disappearing  entirely  at 
Valparaiso.   Five   miles   southeast    of  Crown    Point    is 

( 'edar  Lake,  over  a  square  mile  in  area,  I  he  only  lake  of 
any  consequence  in  this  part  of  the  upland. 

Near  Valparaiso  the  elevation  increases  ami  there  is 
a  corresj ling  increase  in  ruggedness.  A  striking  fea- 
ture of  this  interesting  portion  is  the  fact  that  the  cresl 
of  the  upland  is  near  the  northern  edge;  the  northern 
-lope  ,s  abrupt,  there  being  a  rise  of  [50  f.-ct  in  the  2 
miles  from  the  Lake  Plain,  while  the  southern  slope  is 
broad  ami  gentle  (see  Fig.  3  ,     Another  peculiarity  is 


Chicago  A 

Cktstai  Lake,  III.,  a  Typical  Lake  Basin  in  thi   R 

1  hi.  ii. i.  Si  mini  mil ii  in  i'i  km  \    Vgrii  i  i.n  km.  Land. 

that  from  Valparaiso  eastward  the  moraine  is  composed 
largely  of  sand  and  -ravel  instead  of  the  typical  "bowl- 
der clay"  characteristic  of  moraines  There  are  promi- 
nent knolls  in  this  part  of  the  upland,  and  in  the  liasins 
between  them  are  inclosed  shallow  lakes.  This  is  the 
western  pari  of  the  lake  region  ol  [ndiana  Hudson  Lake 
in  northeastern  Laporte  C« ty  and  Pine  Lake  north- 

vvesl   of  the  city  of  Laporte  arc  the  larger  of  the  lakes  in 

this  region. 

DRAIN  vol    in     nil     v  vi.rvii  vis,,   i   i'i   vmi 

Thai  section  of  the  Valparaiso  Upland  north  of  the 
1  -it  let  is  drained  southward  by  the  Des  Plaines 
and  the  Fox  rivers  South  of  the  outlet  the  upland  forms 
the  Continental  Divide,  drainage  to  the  north  entering 
Lake  Michigan.  Tin'  diversion  of  tin-  Calumet  River 
through  the  Sau  Channel  hit  onlj  an  insignificant 
amount  draining  into  th,.  lake,  that  earned  l.v  Galen 
and  Trail  creeks  in  the  vicinity  of  Michigan  City;  bul 
the  new  Burns  ditch  helps  restore  the  natural  drainage 
of  the  area  -ir  Fig  I  I  \\  iter  from  the  north  by  the 
Fox  and  th.'  Des  Plaines  and  much  of  that   fr he 

south  and  cast   l,y  Hie  (   alillncl   and   Kankakee  is  eventll- 
■  111,,,,,    I 


^24 


•HYSKKiRAI'HV  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


ally  received  by  (lie  Illim 
southward  to  I  lie  Mississi 


d  westward  and 


GEOGHAPHU     I  I    i/TURES  OF  TH]     VALPARAISO  T   I'l.WI) 

Like  the  Lake  Border  Upland,  the  Valparaiso  Up- 
land i-  .in  exceedingly  rich  farm-and-dairy  region.  The 

northern  lake  section  U  a  part  of  I  he  famous  dairy  sec- 
tion that    has  placed  Wisconsin  foremost   among  the 

dairy  states  of  the  country.  The  Indiana  part  is  hardly 
less  important  as  regards  dairying,  Lake  County  being 
known  as  "the  Denmark  of  Indiana."  The  production 
of  stock  and  grain  is  important  in  all  parts  of  the 
province,  especially  in  the  middle,  or  Illinois,  portion. 


Being  primarily  an  agricultural  region,  this  province 
has  a  great  predominance  of  -.mail  country  towns,  the 
larger  ones  being  established  along  the  major  streams 
or  along  the  margin  of  the  Lake  Plain.  In  most  eases 
the  communities  in  this  upland  are  located  on  the 
crests  or  sides  of  moraines  (see  glacial  map,  Plate  I). 

Approaching  the  city  of  Chicago  one  finds  that  vil- 
lages become  increasingly  numerous.  These  are  served 
by  a  close  net  of  railroad  lines  that  converge  on  Chicago 
and  offer  excellent  passenger  and  freight  transporta- 
tion. Many  of  the  towns.  Wheaton  and  Downers  (J  rove 
for  example,  even  though  located  some  distance  out  on 
the  upland,  contain  a  large  percentage  of  people  who 
have  their  occupation  in  Chicago.  Other  communities 
are  built  on  the  edge  of  the  rolling  upland  bordering  the 
Lake  Plain,  thus  combining  the  advantages  of  accessi- 


bility to  the  large  city  with  those  of  suburban  location. 
Glenview,  Park  Ridge.  Franklin  Park.  La  Grange, 
Palos  Park,  Ilomewood.  and  Chicago  Heights  are  in 
this  group.  This  chain  of  marginal  towns  on  the  more 
habitable  upland  is  rapidly  becoming  continuous. 

On  the  uplands  railroad  line--  arc  not  quite  so  direct 
as  in  most  parts  of  the  region,  their  courses  being  de- 
termined by  the  uneven  topography.  Highways,  also, 
find  it  impossible  to  follow  section  line-  so  faithfully  as 
they  do  on  the  more  level  parts  of  the  region.  Streets 
may.  and  usually  do.  depart  from  the  gridiron  pattern 
to  follow  the  topography  SO  as  to  give  home  sites  the 
benefit  of  elevations.  Thus  drainage  is  usually  easily  ob- 
tained for  storm  and  sanitary  sewerage.  On  I  he  uplands, 
also,  are  found  the  best  sites  for  forest  preserves  and 
parks,  country  clubs,  golf  courses,  and  riding  clubs. 
Large  areas,  particularly  near  the  more  congested  part 
of  the  region,  have  already  been  acquired  by  private 
capital  and  by  public  funds  for  these  purposes.  By  the 
middle  of  1926  the  Cook  County  Forest  Preserve  Com- 
missioners had  acquired  .'51.000  acres  of  forest-preserve 
lands,  approaching  the  first  objective  of  35,000  acres. 
In  Du  Page  County  over  1,L200  acres  had  been  taken 
over  for  forest  preserves,  and  Kane  County  is  just  em- 
barking on  its  program  of  acquisition  of  forest  prescrx  es. 
These  areas  are  being  selected  very  wisely  so  as  to  in- 
clude all  the  natural  features  of  the  region  and  hence 
all  types  of  flora  and  fauna:  they  include  upland  forests 
and  prairies.  Hood  plains,  ravines,  swamps,  rivers, 
ponds,  lakes,  and  springs,  with  a  corresponding  variety 
of  vegetation. 

Mention  should  also  be  made  or  the  great  many 
summer  resorts  in  the  lake  region.  So  numerous  are 
these  resorts,  and  SO  highly  coveted  are  choice  locations 
in  them,  that  in  certain  instances  desirable  home  sites 
on  the  lakes  command  prices  higher  than  those  in  the 
better  residential  sections  of  Chicago. 

Many  of  the  summer  resorts  have  become  perma- 
nent villages,  and  are  made  up  of  beautiful,  substantial 
homes.  The  rounded  and  usually  wooded  knolls  of  the 
lake  country  and  the  clear  blue  lakes  they  inclose  con- 
stitute what  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  pictur- 
esque parts  of  the  interior  plain. 

Possibilities  for  further  utilization  of  this  beautiful 
province  for  recreational  purposes  are  practically  un- 
limited. 


Chapter  VI 
THE  MANTENO  PLAIN 


TIIK  Mai.tr,,,,  Plain  takes  its  name'  from  the 
town  of  Manteno,  Qlinois,  located  al  a  poinl 
where  this  province  is  widesl  and  where  it  is 
typically  developed.  It  is  a  crescent-shaped  tract 
■  ■  Fig  2  lying  wholly  wesl  of  the  <>1<1  Continental 
Divide:  il >  inner  margin  faces  northeast  and  faithfully 
parallels  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan.  It  -  widesl  and 
most  southerly  part  i-  north  of  Kankakee,  whence  it 
pinches  oul  both  t<>  the  north,  where  it  end-  in  a  sharp 
poinl  south  of  Elgin,  and  to  the  easl  where  it  crosses 
the  Illinois-Indiana  state  line  and  end-  in  a  blunt  point 
near  Lowell.  The  length  of  the  plain,  along  it-  midline, 
i-  80  miles;  it-  average  width  is  12  miles;  and  it-  maxi- 
mum width  i-  17  miles,  jusl  north  of  Kankakee. 

i), i  the  inside  the  crescenl  i-  bounded  by  the  outer 
front  of  the  Valparaiso  Upland.  On  the  outside  it  is 
bounded  from  Elgin  southward  t<>  the  Chicago  outlet  by 

the  Minooka  moraine,  a  part  of  the  Outer  Upland;  from 

the  outlet  to  its  eastern  tip  it  is  set  off  from  the  Morris- 
Kankakee  Basin  by  the  Mull-  of  the  Kankakee  Mixer. 
The  Chicago  outlet  crosses  the  plain  at  Joliet  and 
divides  it  into  north  and  south  portions,  the  latter  being 
the  larger  of  the  two.   In  its  course  across  the  Manteno 

Plain  the  <  IhicagO  outlet  i-  at  lir-l  deep  and  narrow,  lint 

below  Joliet  it  becomes  broad  and  -hallow  and  widens 

into  the  low    Morris    Kankakee   l?a-ill. 

The  surface  of  the  plain  descends  from  7.">o  feet 


above  sea-level  south  of  Elgin 
end.   Easl  of  Wilmington,  wh< 

crosses,  the  border  of  the  plain 


650  feet   al    ll 

,e  eastern 

•  the  Wabash 

Railway 

.  low  e-t  .  will. 

an  eleva- 

In   the  nort  hern   port  ion   t  he  -lope  i- 
sides,  giving  rise  to  a  basin  about  866 

irea    and    drained    by    the    -outhward- 

River.     In  the  southern  portion  the 


ti f    Mill    feet 

inward  from  hot  I 
square  mile-  in 
Bowing  Du  Pag< 
slope  i-  generally  southwestward  from  the  Valparaiso 
Upland  toward  t he  Kankakee  River.  ( Consequently,  t he 
streams  which  are  tributary  to  the  Kankakee  River  have 
approximately  parallel  courses  and  bring  out  strikingly 
the  -lope  of  tin-  portion  of  the  Manteno  Plain. 

The  plain  character  of  this  province  i-  varied  by  the 
presence  of  two  moraine-  that  repre-ent  brief  pauses  of 
the  iee  front  a-  it  retreated  aero--  thi-  area.  They  are 
the  Rockdale5  and  Hie  Manhattan  moraine-    see  glacial 

map  .  both  characterized  by  gentle  -well-  and  -hallow. 
undrained  depressions.  Three  large  abandoned  valleys, 
now  sloughs,  cross  the  Rockdale  moraine  in  a  general 
east-west  direction  north  of  Joliet.  During  the  period 

of    glacial     retreat     they     were    occupied     by     g l--i/ed 

river-.   In  the  extreme  southern  part,  near  Kankakee, 

the  Rockdale  moraine  and  the  Surface  Of  the  plan,  are 
crossed  by  -hallow  channel-  which  were  formed  by  the 
torrential  glacial  waters  escaping  through  the  Kankakee 
Valley  while  the  great  ice  lobe  -till  occupied  the  Lake 
Michigan  Basin  and  Plain. 


Name  pro| ■■!  bj  l>r.  M.  M.  Leigh  to 


/ 


■  Geological  Survey,  Hull. 


Chapter  VII 

THE  MORRIS-KANKAKEE  BASIN,  A  POTENTIAL 
RECREATIONAL  BELT 


M 


"OST  extensive  of  the  lowlands  in  the  region 
of  Chicago  is  the  Morris-Kankakee  Basin,  a 
broad  belt  across  the  entire  southern  part  of 
the  region  (see  Fig.  2).  A  compound  province 
as  is  suggested  by  its  name,  it  consists  of  (1 )  the  Morris 
Basin,  a  flat,  saucer-shaped  depression  at  the  west  end: 
and  (2)  the  Kankakee  Basin,  the  broad  valley  of  the 
Kankakee  River  that  enters  the  Morris  Basin  from  the 
east.  Because  there  is  no  physiographic  break  between 
the  two  basins,  and  because  they  have  many  features 
in  common,  they  are  here  regarded  as  one  province.  On 
all  sides  this  basin  is  bounded  by  higher  land:  on  the 
northwest,  west,  and  south  by  the  Outer  Upland;  and 
on  the  north  by  the  Manteno  Plain  and  the  Valparaiso 
Upland.  Near  its  western  end  it,  too,  is  crossed  by  the 
Chicago  outlet.  It  is  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  miles 
wide  through  most  of  its  course,  but  near  Kankakee  it  is 
constricted  to  a  width  of  4  miles. 

In  general  the  basin  slopes  from  east  to  west,  the 
wot  ward  flow  of  the  Kankakee  River  expressing  this 
slope.  The  higher  elevations,  about  7,50  feet  above  tide, 
arc  in  eastern  Indiana;  and  the  lowest  part,  an  eleva- 
tion of  .3.50  feet,  is  the  center  of  the  Morris  Basin.  The 
descent  from  the  sides  of  the  basin  toward  the  river  is 
in  place-  imperceptible. 

Till:  MORRIS  BASIN 

Were  it  not  for  the  gap  in  the  western  edge  (outside 
the  region  of  Chicago)  through  which  the  Illinois  River 
flows,  this  basin  would  contain  a  large  lake,  as  it  un- 
doubtedly did  at  the  time  of  glacial  retreat.  Much  of  its 
surface  is  lower  than  the  surface  of  Lake  Michigan,  as 
b  show  n  on  the  relief  map  (Plate  II).  Because  the  Mor- 
ris Basin  is  a  saucer-shaped  depression,  the  drainage  has 
a  radial  pattern,  (hat  is.  the  streams  flow  inward  toward 
the  center  of  the  basin. 

THE   KANKAKEE  SAM)   PLAIN 
In  Indiana  the  entire  breadth  of  the  Morris-Kan- 
kakee Basin  is  a  plain  covered  with  sand  or  very  sandy 
soil,  and  is  therefore  frequently  called  the  "sand  plain." 
This  great  expanse  of  sand  represents  the  deposits  made 
1  United  States-  Geological  Survey,  Monog.  88,  p.  506.  J  Ha 


during  the  glacial  period  chiefly  as  outwash  from  nearby 
ice  lobes. 

Throughout  most  of  its  course  this  province  is  a 
monotonous  lowland  without  any  interruptions  other 
than  the  numerous  sand  dunes  and  occasional  shallow- 
bars  that  rise  from  its  surface.  In  parts  of  Indiana  sand 
ridges,  probably  built  up  by  the  wind,  are  fairly  con- 
spicuous. In  the  Morris-Basin  a  prominent  gravel  ridge 
forms  the  northern  margin  of  the  Chicago  outlet:  and 
south  of  the  outlet  clearly  marked  shore  lines  record  the 
levels  of  the  lake  that  once  occupied  the  basin. 

The  master-stream  of  the  Morris-Kankakee  Basin 
is  the  Kankakee  River.  Though  it  receives  many  tribu- 
taries, all,  except  the  Iroquois  River,  are  relatively 
small.  In  the  Morris  Basin  the  largest  streams  are  the 
multibranched  Aux  Sable  and  Mazon  creeks. 

Originally  most  of  the  sand  plain  and  parts  of  the 
bordering  areas  were  in  a  swampy  condition.  Old  set- 
tlers recall  that  areas  were  under  water  so  deep  that  it 
was  necessary  to  swim  horses  across.  In  18!)!)  Leveret  t 
wrote  of  this  lowland: 

The  Kankakee  marsh  embraces  probably  1,000  square 
miles  or  about  one-fifth  of  the  watershed.  In  addition  to  this. 

about  3,000  square  miles  have  very  poor  drainage The 

head  of  the  Kankakee  marsh  near  South  Bend,  Indiana,  stands 
about  140  feet  above  Lake  Michigan,  or  720  feet  above  title. 
From  this  point  to  Momence,  Illinois,  a  distance  of  8'2  miles 
by  direct  line,  there  is  a  continuous  marsh.  The  amount  of 
water  above  the  junction  with  Yellow  River  is  insufficient  to 
from  a  well-defined  channel,  but  below  that  point  there  is  quite 
a  definite  open  channel.  The  small  tributaries  are  usually  lost 
in  the  marsh  before  reaching  the  main  stream.  The  Kankakee 
Valley  Drainage  Company  has  estimated  that  625  square  mill's 

may  lie  direct  ly  reclaimed  ami  1 ,000  square  miles  benefited  by 
systematic  ditching.1 

In  the  100  miles  through  which  the  Kankakee  River 
flows  in  Indiana  it  originally  meandered  so  that  its 
length  was  .'500  miles  and  its  average  fall  4  inches  per 
mile.2 

During  the  last  twenty  years  conditions  in  the 
marsh  bell  have  been  changed  greatly.  The  Kankakee 
and  many  of  its  tributaries  nave  been  straight  cued  and 
deepened  so  as  to  increase  both  their  gradient  and 
ndbooh  of  Indiana  Geology,  p.  ~2. 


THE  MORRIS  KANKAKEE  BASIN 


capacity.  Much  drowned  land  -till  remains,  however, 
all  the  way  From  Kankakee  County  eastward  t<>  Starke 
and  Laporte  counties,  especially  close  I"  the  Kankakee 
Hi\  <-r.  Even  where  ditching  has  been  resorted  t<>.  main- 
tenance of  i:<""|  drainage  presents  a  difficult  problem 
because  at  times  of  high  water  the  streams  and  ditches 
bring  in  water  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  Kankakeee 
Channel.  These  floods  have  had  importanl  bearing  on 
town  locations.  Morris,  for  example,  is  located  on  a 
terrace  well  beyond  the  reach  of  the  overflows  thai  fre- 
quently iH-ciir  in  the  Morris  Basin,  and  there  are 
pract  ically  no  communities  of  any  size  on  the  Kankakee 
easl  of  Momence. 

Where  the  sandy  soil  of  the  lowland  is  drained  it  is 
usually  suitable  I'm-  farming,  corn  and  hay  being  com- 
monly grown  "ii  it.  From  marsh  area-  not  yel  drained, 
"wild  hay"  i-  often  cut.   A   -tri|>  of  practically  un- 


changed lowland  in  places  several  miles  wide  extends 

fr Kankakee  County  eastward  along  the  Kankakee. 

Much  of  il  i-  -lill  in  Forest,  the  native  growth  of  trees 
including  maple,  ash,  elm,  birch,  and  oak.  In  open 
glades  cat-tails  and  rushes  grow  luxuriantly 
farmers  own  wood  l<>t-  in  this  area  and  during  the  winter 
go  into  tin-  woods  on  ili<-  ice  to  cul  and  haul  out  an 
annual  supply  of  firewood.1  On  dry  sections  hunting  and 
fishing  camps  have  been  located  Attempts  have  been 
made  to  reclaim  parts  of  this  undrained  belt,  bul  the 
returns  have  nol  justified  the  high  expense.  For  this 
reason  the  area  should  prove  ideal  for  t'i>r<--i  preserve 
and  should  !»•  maintained  in  il-  wild  state,  so  thai  the 
plant,  bird,  and  animal  life  -lill  abundant  there  may  be 
cared  for.  The  area  i-  adapted  by  nature  for  ilii-  type 
of  recreational  use  and  is  of  little  value  for  any  other 
purpose. 


/  i    -    I  >ep1 .  of  Agriculture  .  p.  \  J. 


Chapter  VIII 
THE  OUTER  UPLAND,  AN  AGRICULTURAL  AREA 


THIS  province  is  the  third  and  outermost  of  the 
three  concentric  uplands  thai  occur  in  the  area. 
Like  the  others  it  encircles  the  lower  end  of  Lake 
Michigan  and  trends  parallel  with  the  shore  of 
the  lake  (see  Fig.  2).  Only  extensions  from  its  inner 
margin  come  within  the  region  of  Chicago,  the  main 
part  of  the  upland  lying  outside  of  it.  Here  is  the  front 
along  which  the  edge  of  the  ice  stood  stationary  for  a 
long  time  in  the  course  of  its  northward  retreat.  Though 
not  so  pronounced  as  the  Valparaiso,  this  upland  is 
very  prominent  through  much  of  its  course.  It  will  be 
considered  under  three  sections;  (  1  )  a  northern  portion, 
extending  in  a  broad  belt  from  the  Wisconsin  line  south- 
ward to  the  north  end  of  the  Morris-Kankakee  Basin; 
(2)  a  middle  portion,  extending  from  the  .southwest 
corner  of  the  region  of  Chicago  eastward  nearly  to  the 
Indiana  line;  and  (3)  an  eastern  portion,  in  Indiana, 
occupying  the  southeast  corner  of  the  region  of  Chicago. 
The  northern  portion,  like  the  Valparaiso  Upland, 
has  an  unusually  great  relief  for  the  region  of  Chicago, 
its  altitudes  ranging  from  little  more  than  600  feet  above 
t  ide  at  the  southern  end  to  altitudes  of  1,000  and  1,050 
feet  in  the  northern  portion  west  of  Elgin  and  at  the 
Wisconsin-Illinois  state  line.  The  northern  half,  north 
of  the  town  of  Elburn,  is  distinctly  higher  than  the 
southern,  most  of  it  being  more  than  800  feet  above  sea- 
level  and  large  tracts  being  over  !)<><)  feet. 

The  surface  of  this  highland  shows  well-marked 
terminal  moraines.  Two  of  these,  the  Minooka  and 
Marengo  moraines  (see  Plate  I),  trend  north  and  south 
and  arc  very  long.  The  Minooka  moraine  extends  south 
lo  the  Chicago  outlet,  16  miles  beyond  the  main  part 
of  the  upland,  thus  forming  the  eastern  rim  of  the 
Morris  Basin.  The  Illinois  River  has  cut  into  the  south- 
ern tip  of  this  moraine  and  developed  a  sharp  bluff  120 

feel  high,  called  Dresden  Heights.  Here  the  Minooka 
moraine  is  fairly  conspicuous,  but  in  general  it  is  not 
prominent,  being  characterized  by  Leveret  I  as  '"a  single 
smooth  ridge  on  whose  crests  and  slopes  there  arc  few 
swells  exceeding  lit  feet   in  height."' 

The  other  moraine,  the  Marengo.'  lies  to  the  west 
of  the  Minooka  and  extends  from  a  point  5  miles  west 
of  Batavia  northward  beyond  the  Wisconsin  line.   This 

1  United  States  Geological  Survey,  Mmm,/.  18,  p.  819. 


is  a  high,  broad,  and  rugged  moraine  whose  crest  reaches 
almost  1.100  feet  above  tide  in  northwestern  Kane 
County.  From  its  southern  end  to  the  town  of  Hamp- 
shire, a  distance  of  IS  miles,  it  is  prairie  like,  presenting 
a  scries  of  billows  40  or  .50  feet  high  and  1,000  to  1/200 
feet  across.  From  Hampshire  northward  its  contours 
are  sharper,  and  it  has  characteristic  "knob  and  kettle" 
topography.  At  its  eastern  border  it  rises  ?.".  12(1  feet 
above  the  surrounding  country;  and  at  the  western, 
100-150  feet. 

On  the  northern  portion  of  the  Outer  Upland  the 
topography  is  complicated  by  several  east-west  mo- 
raines, the  most  important  of  which  is  the  Marseilles 
moraine.  This  well-defined  ridge  leaves  the  Minooka 
moraine  about  6  miles  south  of  Aurora,  and,  following 
the  south  bluff  of  the  Fox  River,  swings  southwestward 
past  Yorkville  to  a  point  near  Millington,  where  it 
turns  southward  and,  just  outside  of  our  region,  crosses 
the  Illinois  River.  Thus  it  forms  the  northern  and 
western  rims  of  the  Morris  Basin,  as  the  Minooka  does 
the  eastern  rim.  It  has  a  sharp  crest  throughout  this 
course,  and  at  one  point  south  of  Yorkville  is  220  feet 
above  the  Fox  River  and  100  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
surrounding  country.  The  ridge,  which  is  2  or  3  miles 
wide,  along  this  east-west  stretch,  has  the  knolls  and 
depressions  characteristic  of  terminal  moraines,  and  is 
crossed  by  a  number  of  curious  gaps,  no  doubt  cut  by 
glacial  streams. 

The  Aurora  Plain,  so  named  because  the  city  of 
Aurora  is  located  on  the  middle  of  its  eastern  margin,  is 
bounded  by  the  Marseilles  moraine  on  the  south,  the 
Minooka  moraine  on  the  east,  and  the  Bloomington  and 
Marengo  moraines  on  the  north,  and  extends  westward 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  region  of  Chicago.  It  is  a  flat 
area  about  18  miles  wide  and  extends  into  the  region  a 
distance  of  15  miles,  as  indicated  by  dotted  lines  in  Fig. 
2.  Its  surface  lies  from  50  to  100  feet  below  the  crests  of 
the  inclosing  moraines.  In  the  northwestern  portion  it 
is  850  feet  above  sea-level,  in  the  northeastern  portion 
750  feet,  and  it  slopes  to  650  feet  in  the  southern  part. 
The  Marseilles  moraine  reappears  in  the  south- 
western corner  of  the  region,  and  trending  due  east  it 
.      passes  out    of  the  area   just    east    of  the   village  of  St. 

-  Ibid.,  pp.  291   92. 

28 


THE  OUTER  UPLAND 


','!» 


Anne,  Illinois.  There  is  an  interruption  in  the  moraine 
near  it-  eastern  end,  where  the  [roquois  River  crosses 
it.  The  crest  of  the  moraine  lies  south  of  the  region  of 
Chicago,  Mini  therefore  the  elevations  in  our  region  are 
low,  ranging  from  Too  feel  al  the  wesl  end  to  <>."><»  ;il 
the  east.  The  moraine  slopes  northward,  thus  drier 
mining  the  flow  <»f  the  tributaries  of  Ma/cm  ('reek  and 
Kankakee  River.  The  relief  is  not  great,  bul  swells  20 
feel  high  occur  on  the  moraine.  Near  St.  Anne  i-  the 
eminence  called  Mount  Langham  that  rises  75  loo  feet 
alio\  e  the  plain  to  the  north  of  it.' 

The  eastern  part  of  the  Outer  Upland,  the  Indiana 
portion.  i-  an  upland  only  in  a  relative  sense  ^  con- 
trasted with  the  lowlands  that  surround  it.  It  consists 
of  a  leu  narrow  hummocky  moraine-,  probably  con- 
tinuations of  the  Marseilles  moraine,  that  rise  to  over 
700  feet  above  tide,  and  are  separated  by  areas  of  sand 
and  sandy  ground  moraine. 

The  F<>\  River,'  the  only  important  stream  in  the 
Outer  Upland,  has  it-  source  in  southern  Wisconsin,  fol- 
low- the  eastern  and  southern  margins  of  the  Aurora 
Plain,  and  after  passing  out  of  the  region  of  Chicago 

1  Ibid.,  p.  -.'sip.  -  //„,/..  pp.  509  10. 


enters  the  Illinois  River  S3  miles  below  the  mouth  of 
the  I  >e-  Plaines. 

For  a  di-tanee  of  nearly  :.->  miles  iron,  its  source  the  Pox 
River  drain-  only  a  narrow  -trip  among  the  tnorainic  ridges  ol 
the  composite  belt  previously  described.  In  this  portion  of  its 

course  it-  rail  a unts  to  but  a  few  inches  to  the  mile,  but  it 

.•xpand-  at  frequent  interval-  into  lake-  and  marshes,  between 
which  are  short   -pace-  having  a   narrow    and  well-defined 

channel ibove  Elgin,  Illinois,  the  river  begins  a  rapid 

de-rent  to  the  low  plain  thai  lies  on  the  outer  border  of  the 

Marseilles  moraine,  and  follows  this  plain  to  it- ith.  The 

stream  bas  no  valley  until  it  begins  the  descent  to  this  plain. 
where  for  a  few  miles  it  has  cut  to  a  depth  of  nearly  100  feet, 
hut  in  the  pa— aye  through  t  he  plain  it-  bed  i-  -unk  to  a  depth 
of  only  m  or  .".(I  IVrt The  valley  is  also  narrow  through- 
out it-  entire  length,  and  presents  a  conspicuous  contrast  to 
the  broad  valley  of  the  upper  Illinois.  Its  channel  even  in  the 
lower  7.".  miles  has  a  breadth  of  only  about  one-eighth  mile 
and  a  depth  scarcely  half  as  great  as  that  of  the  neighboring 
portion  of  the  Illinois. 

\  peculiarity  of  the  Fox  River  i-  thai  all  it-  important 

tributaries  li< the  wesl  side,  there  being  bul  a  narrow 

strip  of  watershed  on  the  east  side. 


Chapter  IX 
LAKE  MICHIGAN  AND  ITS  SHORE  LINE 


I\KK   Michigan,  a  complete   barrier   to   cist -west  A  striking  feature  of  the  southern  two-thirds  of  Lake 

land  traffic  is  a  principal  cause  for  the  devek)])-  Michigan  is  the  absence  of  natural  islands.  Submerged 

.  ment  of  the  great  metropolitan  area  at  thepoint  reefs  are  found,  however,  though  fortunately  for  lake 

-J  where  all  traffic  lanes  water,  rail,  and  highway  navigation  they  are  few.  One  of  these,  the  Racine  reef.'- 
— intersect  and  conic  to  a  focus. 

The  lake"  is  about  .'500  miles  long  and  has  a  maxi-  ^    ^  ^         TABLE  III 

mum  width,  at    Racine,  of  SO  miles.  At   Chicago  the  inMUes 

width   in  a  due  cast-west   line  is  a  trifle  over  .")()  miles.  ! .  ...     12   -'•> 

The  area  of  the  lake  is  .22,400  square  miles.  5                                              30-45 

In  cross-sections  based  upon  soundings,  the  lake  has  ,.! 

the  profile  typical  of  an  ice-eroded  basin  rather  than  of  on                                            i-n 

a  river-cut  valley,  in  that  it  is  broad,  flat  bottomed,  and  .,-                                               L,n- 

has  somewhat   abrupt   sides.    The  longitudinal  profile  3,1                                                  ._>i- 

bears  out  the  same  view,  for  it  shows  the  existence  of  34  253 

broad,  inclosed  basins  separated  by  swells.  The  char- 
acter of  the  bottom  in  the  part  of  the  lake  lying  north  occurs  within  the  region  of  Chicago.   Its  inner  edge  lies 
of  Racine  is  very  different  from  that  lying  south  of  that  over  a  mile  offshore  from  the  city  of  Racine:  on  its  shal- 
city.   In  the  northern  portion  the  bottom  is  irregular,  lower  part  it  is  65— 11  feet   beneath  the  surface  of  the 
due  to  the  presence  of  what  are  apparently  a  series  of  lake,  and  it  is  surrounded  by  depths  of  2.5-30  feet.   In 
westward-facing  escarpments  protruding  into  the  basin;  extent  it  is  a  half-mile  broad  by  a  mile  and  a  quarter 
in   the   southern    portion   the   bottom   is   smooth    and  long.  There  is  a  lighthouse  near  its  eastern  border.  The 
rounded.  It  is  suggested  thai  the  condition  in  the  south-  constitution  and  origin  of  this  reef  have  not  been  de- 
em end  of  the  lake  is  due  to  a  veneer  of  glacial  drift  termined. 
covering  the  bottom  and  hiding  irregularities  which  are 
probably  present  on  the  surface  of  the  bed  rock.  ' "  WGES  ™  LEVEL  OF  LAKE  Michigan3 

Along  a  line  from  Milwaukee  to  Grand  Haven,  the  Seiches. — This  is  a  tidelike  rise  and  fall  of  the  water 

lake  nowhere  exceeds  348  feet  in  depth  (see  Fig.  12).  level  set  up  in  response  to  varying  atmospheric  pressures 

This   relatively   shallow   stretch    marks   a    submerged  and  rarely  amounting  to  as  much  as  a  foot. 

divide  which  separates  Lake  Michigan  into  two  major  Tides. — Lunar  tides  having  a  range  of  about  3  inches 

basins.   The  northern  of  these  is  considerably  the  deeper  occur  on  Lake  Michigan. 

of  the  two,  reaching  a  maximum  depth  southeast  of  Seasonal  variations. — The  range  in  level  between  low 

Sturgeon  Bay  of  about  870  feet,  or  about  290  feet  below  water  in  January  and  high  water  in  July  or  August 

sea-level.    The    southern    basin    reaches    its    maximum  amounts  to  IS  inches  or  less.   This  variation    is  due   to 

depth   in   the   middle  of  the  lake,  opposite  the  city  of  fluct nations  in  precipitation,  spring  melt ing.  and  evapo- 

Etacine,  where  the  bottom  is  .">S'2  feet  below  the  surface,  ration. 

or  approximately  at  sea-level.   From  this  point  south-  Longer-term  fluctuations.     There  are  groups  of  years 

ward  to  the  head  of  the  lake  the  bottom  rises  gradually.  during  which  the  lake  level  is  rising  and  others  during 

The    deepest    part    of    the    lake    between    Chicago    and  which    it    is   falling.   The   variations   between    high    and 

Benton  Harbor  lies  at  a  midway  point  where  the  water  low   level   do   not   exceed    1'    feet.    The  years  during 

is  252  feet  deep.   The  rale  at   which  the  lake  deepens  oil'  which  high  and  low   levels  have  been  reached  are  shown 

the  Chicago  shore  line  is  indicated  by  Table  III.  in  Table  IV. 

1  Data  drawn  chiefly  from  the  hike-survey  charts  furnished  In   llie  I'niled  Stales  Lake  Survey  Office,  Detroit,  Mich. 
II  1  rmiMn  (ii-nliujirnl  and  Natural  History  Survey,  Bull.  $6,  p.  289. 

Data  from  the  following  sources:  (a)  ibid.,  p.  294;  (6)  P.  C.  Day,  "Precipitation  in  the  Drainage  Irea  of  the  Great  Lakes."  Monthly 
Weather  Review  (March,  L926),  pp.  85  106;  (c)  Herman  L.  Fairchild,  "Changing  Levels  of  the  Great  Lakes."  Scientific  Monthly  1  March.  L926), 
pp.  193  200. 

30 


LAKE  MICHIGAN  AND  ITS  SIIORK  UNI 


11, ,-,  nt  changes  in  level.  Since  about  1  :»--**>  there  has 
been  a  steady  lowering  of  the  Greal  Lakes  that  has 
caused  some  alarm  and  thai  threatens  seriously  to  inter- 
fere with  the  use  of  the  lakes  for  navigation,  sanitary 
purposes,  and  the  generation  of  power  in  hydroelectric 
plants.  Lake  Michigan  had  a  level  of  582  feet  above 

TABLE  IV 


their  work.  Though  they  are  always  more  or  less  active, 
ii  i-  at  t  i r 1 1< •-.  when  strong  winds  are  blowing  from  the 
lake,  particularly  during  storms,  that  they  accomplish 


horn  184  I  to  1855. 
to  dale. 

sea-level  in  1918;  but  in  January,  1926,  it  had  fallen  to 
:•','  37  feet  the  lowest  level  ever  recorded  for  the  lake. 
By  August,  1926,  the  level  had  risen  to  578.59,  showing 
the  usual  seasonal  fluctuation.  This  lowering  of  the 
water  level  has  been  attributed  to  the  diversion  of  water 
at  <  Chicago  from  Lake  Michigan  into  I  he  <  Chicago  Drain- 
age Canal,  l>nt  an  exhaustive  investigation  by  the 
Engineering  Board  of  Review  of  the  Sanitary  District  of 
Chicago  has  led  to  the  distribution  of  the  causes  a> 
shown  in  Table  V.  Thus  diversion  at  Chicago  i-  seen 

TABLE  V 

Excessive  evaporation  and  subnormal  precipitation  13 

Increased  flow  by  the  enlarged  St.  ( !lair  River 8 

Diversion  al  Chicago  :, 

Storage  and  retention  in  Lake  Superior  ■'• 

Backwater  effected  by  diversion  and  lowering  in  Lake  Erie  2 

Total  below  normal  level  31 

to  be  neither  the  sole  nor  the  greatest  factor  involved. 
Abnormal  weather  conditions  of  recent  years  appear  to 
play  the  leading  part. 

The  in' >~i  favored  remedy  for  this  condition  is  the 

construct! f  movable  dams  at  the  outlets  of  the  lakes, 

by  means  of  which  the  outflow  and  hence  the  level  of 
each  lake  may  be  regulated.  Such  control  has  been  sue- 
cessfully  exercised  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Superior  for 
eight  years  and  also  l>y  the  Canadian  government  at  the 
outlet  of  Lake  Ontario,  where  it  has  resulted  in  the 
raising  of  the  water  level  about  <i  inches. 

nil    SHOR1    UN] 

In  the  region  of  Chicago  the  shore  line  of  Lake 
Michigan  presents  a  smooth  curve  that  is  remarkably 
free  from  irregularities.  This  situation  has  not  always 
existed.  For  scores  of  centuries  the  waxes  have  been 
cutting  away  protruding  headlands  and  filling  up  hays 
to  produce  the  present  regularity. 

Three  processes  erosion,  transportation,  and  depo- 
sition are  constantly  modifying  the  shore  line;  and 
the  fact  that  in  this  region  they  have  to  deal  only  with 
unconsolidated  bowlder  clay,  gravel,  and  sand  facilitates 

'  II,  i-rt  „(  ii,,  I  ttfineering  /■  /.'  he  Sat  D 


I  io     i  .'      <  ontours  ol    tin    Lab     \l  ■ 
nrnal  intervals  of  100  ft.,  indicate  the  depth 
on  sounding  data  ••!  the  I   S.  Lake  Survey.) 


most  of  their  work.    The  wind-  from  the  uortheast,  so 
frequent  near  Chicago    see  wind  rose  for  Chicago    I 
in  .  have  a  long  sweep  across  the  lake,  develop  great 

velocities,   and    form    greal    waves,   often    20   feet    high, 
I'       II.  chap.  \ i.  pp  6  i 


32 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION*  OF  CHICAGO 


which  break  over  the  beaches  on  the  west  shore  and 
advance  to  the  very  base  of  the  bluffs,  undercutting 
them  so  that  large  masses  of  bowlder  clay  slump  down 
into  the  lake  carrying  shrubs  and  trees  with  them. 

Must  of  the  time  waves  encounter  the  shore  oblique- 
ly, not  at  right  angles;  the  backflow,  however,  is  at  righl 
angles.  The  result  is  that  any  material  such  as  sand  or 
driftwood  which   the  waves  may  lie  carrying  is  shifted 


worn  down;  while  the  very  fine  material,  the  clay,  is 
carried  in  suspension  far  out  into  the  lake  before  being 
deposited,  it  is  chiefly  t he  material  of  intermediate  size, 
the  sand,  that  is  carried  along  by  the  shore  drift. 

There  are  two  sections  of  the  shore  line  to  be  noted  in 
the  region:  (1 1  theerosional  portion  north  of  Evanston, 
and  (2)  the  depositional  portion  south  of  Evanston. 


nally  across  the  beach. 
ntcr  or  undertow  Bows  directly  doti  n  across  the  beach 
;  a  zigzag  path  to  southward.  The  major  part  of  tra 
the  year  is  done  in  ;i  few  heavj  storms. 


steadily  along  the  shoreline  in  a  zigzag  course  (see  Fig. 
I:;  i.  I'ic  ilia  My  a  single  storm  accomplishes  more  of  this 
"shore  drift"  than  is  otherwise  performed  in  t lie  course 
of  a  year  of  ordinary  weather  conditions.  It  is  apparent 
that  the  shore  drift  is  not  a  current  as  is  often  main- 
tained, but  simply  a  matter  of  wave  action.  My  means 
of  the  drift,  material  from  the  bluffs  north  of  Evanston 
is  shifted  southward  to  the  bead  of  the  lake. 

At  the  same  lime  that  the  material  is  being  trans- 
ported  it    is  also  being  sorted.   The  larger  and  heavier 
stones  in  the  bowlder  clay  arc  left  on  the  shore,  forming 
so-called  "cobble  beaches,"  where  they  are  gradually 
ii  -  coTuin  Geological  and  Natural  History  Survey,  Bull.  36,  p.  28! 


Lake  Michigan's  Shore  Link  near  Lake  Bluff,  Looking  North; 
nii:  Lake  Is  Activeli  Eroding  the  Shore  Link. 

THE  EROSIONAL  SHORE  LINK 
Between  Evanston  and  Racine  the  Lake  Plain  is 
being  cut  away — in  fad,  it  has  long  since  disappeared 
from  I  he  20-mile  stretch  between  Evanston  and  Wau- 
kegan,  where  the  lake  has  cut  far  into  the  Lake  Border 
Upland.  At  Pike  River,  near  Kenosha,  and  at  various 
points  north  of  Racine,  the  bluffs  retreated  1  (i  fed  a 
year  between  1836  and  ISTt.  At  exposed  points  the 
recession  has  been  even  faster,  as  at  Racine  where  it 
averaged  nearly  HI  feel  a  year  for  the  twenty-four  years 
following  1840.'  Efforts  to  stop  this  erosion  by  the  use 
of   piers   have   proved   only   partially   successful,   and 


LAKE  MICHIGAN  AND  ITS  SHORK  LINK 


'-•'- 


erosion  i-  still  going  on.  Farther  south,  at  Glei 
tation  has  obtained  a  good  foothold  on  the  bluffs,  since 
the  erosion  has  been  stopped  and  the  undercutting 
ami  subsequent  landslides  prevented.1  Although  erosion 
in  the  dominant  process  in  operation  along  the  lake 
shore  north  of  Evanston,  much  sand  is  accumulated 
along  the  north  sides  of  piers  and  across  the  mouths  of 

streams.    It    is  deposition  of  this  sort    thai    hampers  the 

maintenance  of  open  harbors  at  Racine  and  Kenosha. 

Between  Waukegan  and  Evanston  the  high  bluffs 

have  been  gashed  with  a   remarkable  series  of  deep, 

V-shaped    ravines   that    have   become    widely    known 

anion-    geologists  as  excellent    examples   of   Very   young 

valleys.    These  ravines  usually  head  a  mile  or  less  hack 

in  the  upland,  and  do  not   contain  streams  except  after 

rains.   Formerly  the  headward  erosi f  these  ravines 

went  actively  on,  keeping  pace  with  the  recession  of  the 
lake  bluffs;  l»nt  here,  as  in  so  many  other  instances, 
man  interfered  and  lias  in  most  cases  artificially  pre- 
vented further  erosion  at  the  ravine  heads.  It  is  along 
th<-  crests  of  the  I il nil's  and  between  the  ra\  ines  that  the 
many  residential  towns  of  this  section  have  grown. 

In   |S!»7   Leverett   wrote  as  follows; 

The  rate  at  which  the  lake  bluff  is  being  encroached  upon 
by  wa\<-  action  has  become  a  matter  of  much  concern  to  the 
residents.  It  is  estimated  bj  old  settlers  thai  from  Waukegan 
to  Evanston  then-  has  been,  during  the  thirty  years  from  ls<;n 
to  1800.  a  strip  about  I50fee1  in  width,  undermined  and  car- 
ried into  the  lake.  This ai mis  toaboul  500  acres,  represent- 
ing at   present   valuation  nearly  one  million  dollars'  worth  of 

property.' 

Another  observer  has  noted: 

In  1st.)  and  for  about  ten  \ears  following  there  was  a 
village  located  in  the-  southeast  corner  of  what  is  now  Hie  Fori 

Sheridan  grounds.  This  \  illage  was  known  as  St.  John 

Reports  differ  as  to  the  i unt  of  land  that  has  been  cut 

awaj    at    this  point,   tail    all  agree  thai    il    was  more  than    100 

feet.  Some  old  settlers  insist  thai  800  to  nin  feet  have  been 
removed,  ami  that  the  wearing  away  of  the  land  caused  the 

site  i"  be  abandoned.  Tl rchard  trees  ai  the  edge  ol  the 

cliff  and  even  overhanging  an-  reported  by  some  to  have  been 
in  the  yard  to  the  wist  of  the  westernmost  house  in  the  \  illage. 
If  this  ,s  true,  the  entire  siteol  the  village  of  St.  Johns  i-.-;„i 

of    t  he    present     shore    lllle. 

The   moving    of    roads    and    sidewalks    has    been    in' 

cessitated  in  places  by  tin-  cutting  hack  of  the  I, lulls  [D 
Rogers  Park  some  of  tl,.-  concrete  sidewalks  extended 
farther  east  than  they  now  do. 

naieK  near  the  lake  cl iff  and  »;.-  frequentl;  washed  a* 
thewaves.  At  the  tool  ,.i  Lake  Wenue,  Wilmette.  as  reported 
bj  C.  P.  Westerfield,  a  survey-oral  Waukegan,  Illinois,  the 


rese,,i  s|, „re  line  is  nearly  200  feet  west  of  where  it  wa 
S.57.  The  original  local  ion  of  the  old  government  road  at 

lace  is  re  than  200  feel  east  of  I  lie  present   shoi 

North  of  Winnelka  the  (ireeii   Hay  road  turns  w< 

a  rd  to  avoid  crossing  the  numerous  ravines  and  to  \-, 
dvantage  of  the   rolling   upland.    The  railroad    •• 


l  III     LakI    SbOR]     NoHl  II  01    (    ii  |,    LQO  TO       Bl 

\<  i  i  mi  i. mi\..  ..X  no.  North  sum  oi  -Ii  ities 


•in,  lines  take  thesam 
larger  ravines  by  meai 


.  crossing  the  heads  of 
il  verts. 


"M  I  ION  IL  BHOR 

cseni  site  of  Chicagi 


IX  I 


Mud,    of   II, 

duced  through  deposition  by  the  shore  drift.  In  the 
northern  pari  of  the  city  as  far  south  as  Lincoln  Park 
this  filling  originally  took  the  form  of  closely  set  sand 
and  gravel  ridges  10  15  feet  high,  now  large!}  obscured 
by  grading.  Southward  from  Thirty-fifth  Street  similar 


1  Illinois  Geological  Survey,  Hull.  .'.  pp 

1  United  Statu  Geological  s„r,,v.  l/. ,.,..,/    is,  p.  282 


Ulinoit  '■ 


ey,  Hull.  ,\  p.  '.)■>. 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


Gary,  as  it  has  al  so  many  other  points.  Throughout 
much  of  its  length  the  dune  bell  is  not  over  a  milt-  in 
width,  but  locally  it  is  fully  25  miles  wide.  In  the 
Indiana  portion  the  finest  stretch  is  that  extending  from 
Miller  lu  Michigan  City;  here  the  largest  dimes  are 
about  200  feel  high.  In  .Michigan,  however,  the  dimes 
reach  their  fullest  development,  especially  at  the  deltas 
of  rivers  flowing  into  Lake  Michigan  where  supplies  of 
sand  have  been  furnished  not  only  by  the  lake  but  by 


iP**^' 


deposits  cover  a  considerable  area.  Northeast  and  east 
of  Washington  Park  a  series  of  ten  to  I  welve  of  t  hese  low 
ridges  could  be  recognized  before  grading  took  place. 
They  ran  roughly  parallel  to  one  another  and  were  from 
1  In  6  miles  in  length,  their  southern  ends  being  as  a 
rule  turned  slightly  to  the  west,  giving  them  the  form 
nf -hallow  hooks.   Thelongest  andmost  prominent  ridge 

passed  through  the  campus  of  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago; it  continued  southward  through  the  western  part 
of  Oakwoods  Cemetery,  terminating  a  mile  north  of 
Burnside.1 

South  of  Lakes  Calumet  and  Wolf  an.  1  north  of  the 
nearest  beach  ridge  is  a  remarkable  series  of  low  parallel 
sand  ridges  which  range  from  8  to  1(1  feet  in  height  and 
arc  separated  in  many  cases  by  narrow,  marshy  belts. 
From  the  present  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-eighth 
Street  in  Hammond  to  the  Grand  Calumet  Riverninety 
of  these  ridges  were  once  counted  before  grading  had 
destroyed  them.  Similar  ridges,  approximately  parallel 
to  the  lake  shore,  may  be  traced  all  the  way  to  Gary 
and  Miller  in  eastern  Lake  County. 

Lake  Calumet.  Wolf  Lake,  and  former  Lake  George 
occupy  a  shallow  depression  or  sand  plain  between  the 
mass  of  ridges  in  Chicago  and  those  in  northwestern 
Indiana.  This  depression  may  once  have  been  an  open 
bay  that  was  partially  closed  off  as  a  result  of  filling. - 

The  deposition  of  sand  along  the  lake  shore  is  still 
actively  going  on,  and  has  given  rise  to  the  great  sand 
areas  that  have  become  famous  for  their  marvelous  de- 
velopment of  dunes. 

THE  DINKS 

It  is  Dot  so  well  known  as  it  should  be  that  the  dunes  of 
Lake  Michigan  are  much  the  grandest  in  the  entire  world. 
Nut  necessarily  the  highest,  tin  High  some  of  them  reach  up  Hill 
feel  and  more  above  the  lake,  but  more  than  any  other  any- 
where, our  dunes  show  magnificent  and  contrasting  types  of 
plant  life,  everything  from  the  bare  dunes  to  magnificent  pri- 
meval Forests.  No  other  dunes  than  ours  show  such  bewilder- 
ing display-  of  dune  movement  and  struggle  for  existence,  such 
labyrinths  of  motion,  Form,  and  life They  are  without 

a  parallel.        IIknuv  Cu  win. eh  CoWLES. 

The  Lake  Michigan  dune  region'  lies  in  a  bell  along 
the  shore  from  Gary,  Indiana,  eastward  and  northward 
practically  the  full  length  of  the  east  shore.  Originally 
the  dunes  extended  as  far  west  as  <  'hicago.  but  excava- 
tion for  sand  has  destroyed  them  between  Chicago  and 

1  Ctiujnipllir  Sm-irlii  nf  t'liinltjn,    Hull.    I.  p.    Mi. 

Tin  niy-second  A  mi  mil  Report  I  Dept.  of  Geologj  and  Natural  Resources,  [nd.),  p.  37. 
;  S.  T.  Mather,  Report  on  the  Proposed  Sand  Hums  National  Park,  Indiana,  p.  4(i. 

1  There  are  manj  publications  describing  the  dunes  in  detail.  A  selected  lisl  of  these  works  follows:  (a)  C.  \V.  Shannon,  "The  Sand  Areas 
of  Indiana,"  Proceedings  of  the  Indiana  Academy  of  Science  for  1911,  pp.  L97  210;  (6)  Edward  Barrett,  "The  Dunes  of  Northwestern  Indiana," 
Forty-first  Annual  Report  (Dept.  of  Geology  and  Natural  Resources,  [nd.,  L916),  pp.  II  27;  (c)  S.  T.  Mather,  Report  on  the  Proposed  Sand 
Hums  National  Park,  Indiana  (Washington:  Dept.  of  the  Interior,  National  Park  Service,  L917),  p.  113;  (d)  <>.  M.  Schantz,  "Indiana's  l'n- 
Ipportunity,"  National  Geographic  Magazine,  Vol.  XXXV.  No.  5  (May,  1919),  pp.  130   H;  (e)  E.  S. 


At  the  Sooth  End  op  Lake  Michigan  the  Beach  Is  Being 
Widened  by  Deposition-  of  Sand  from  the  Eroding 

SlIllHE  XOHTH  OF  CHICAGO. 

the  rivers.  At  Sawyer,  Ludington,  and  (Hen  Haven  oc- 
cur the  most  imposing  dunes,  some  being  over  400  feet 
high.  A  few  small  dune  areas  occur  along  the  west  shore 
of  the  lake  also,  between  Waukegan  and  Kenosha,  but 
here  they  are  relatively  inconspicuous. 

The  dunes  have  been  formed  as  a  result  of  winds 
blowing  from  the  lake  across  areas  of  sand  that  have 
been  freshly  deposited  along  the  shore.  We  have  con- 
sidered how  this  sand  is  obtained  through  the  erosion 
of  the  west  shore  north  of  Evanston,  and  how  it  is 
carried  around  to  I  he  head  of  the  lake  by  "shore  drift." 
Thus  is  explained  I  he  existence  of  great  dune  areas 
along  the  Indiana  and  Michigan  portions  of  the  shore 
line  and  the  paucity  of  dunes  along  the  Illinois  and 
Wisconsin  portions.  The  dunes  are  best  developed 
where  the  winds  from  the  lake  have  passed  over  broad 


tin 


mea— a  National  l> 
d  Dunes  of  Indiana 


LAKE   MICHIGAN  AND  ITS  SHORE  I. INK 


expanses  of  lake,  and  as  a  consequence  have  developed 
high  velocity.  Such  winds,  especially,  are  t lio^c  from 
the  southwesl  and  northwest  (see  wind  rose,  Fig.  9  . 
There  is  hardly  a  time  when  at  some  point  Minim  the 


sand  inland,  buil 
the  land. 

It  will  prove 
typical  dune.  W 


line 


dunes  in 


the 


get 


of 


the  sti 
lake 


Sand  l>'  m  -  It,  in  i\<.  mi  Pine  Pobest,  v  Typical  Landsi  ipi 

i\  THE  N  <  .it  i  hi  us   Imh  !\i  1)i  m  ... 

beach  pick  up  particles  of  sand  and  carry  them  inland. 
Where  some  obstacle  is  encountered,  the  velocity  of  the 
u  nmI  i-  checked  and  the  -and  i-  dropped.  So  dunes  may 
originate  about  clumps  of  grass,  shrubs,  etc.  The  em- 
bryonic dune   itself  becomes  an   obstacle,  and   rapid 

growth  take-  place.    Mca  nu  li  ile.  I  lie  dune  mOVeS  inland 

a-  a  result  of  the  rolling  of  -and  up  il-  gentle,  n  indward 
-lope  ami  over  the  crest  to  it-  steep,  leeward  dope. 
Along  Lake  Michigan  it  has  been  found  that  dun,-  may 
move  as  rapidly  as  10  or  15  feel  per  year.  In  it- inland 
journey,  the  dune  may  encounter  shrubs,  tree-,  even 
whole  forests,  and  engulf  them.  Only  those  forms  of 
vegetation  can  then  survive  that  have  the  power  of 
putting  forth  new  roots  and  growing  upward  as  the  sand 

pile-  an I  their  base;  in  I  he  cm f  the  largest  dunes, 

nothing  survives.   Later,  dead  tree  trunks  are  exhu I 

when  the  dune  has  passed  completely  by.  Eventually 
the  "wandering"  dune  slows  up  as  a  result  of  the  cutting 
off  of  it-  -and  supply  by  new  dune-  that  have  formed 
between  it  and  the  shore.  Vegetation  then  gains  foot- 
hold on  it.  thus  contributing  to  stabilization.  With 
time  the  dune  will  probably  become  "fixed,"  though  not 
infrequently  dunes  that   are  apparently  fixed  become 


juvenated 
.pasbefoi 


i-aiu 


,nlv    to   -I, 


/  '  the  dunes.  The  plant  life  of  the  dun,-,  and 
in  fact  the  dune-  themselves,  have  become  celebrated 
as  a  n-iili  of  the  classic  studies  of  Professor  Henry  C. 
Cowles.  A  resume  of  the  botanical  features  is  given  on 


sandy  shores  winds  from  the  lake  are  nut  carrying  the     pages 


;  9. 


The  bird  and  animal  life  are  :il-, .  extremely  inter- 
esting. Concerning  the  former,  Mr.  <  >  M.  Schantz,  of 
the  Audubon  Society,  says: 

The  lisi  of  lard-  regularly  visiting  the  area  comprising  the 

.'line- and  the  adjacent   regions  is  a  \,T\    lari;,- ■      well  over 

:;ki  varieties;  and   the  list   is  often   swelled   by   wandering 

visitors  who  are  attracted  by  the  wonderful  I' I  supply,  an, I 

the  Favorable  climatic  conditions.1 

Professor  Elliot  R.  Downing  states  that 

the  region  i-  exceedingly  interesting  t>>  the  animal  lover  be- 
cause  it  i-  an  extensive  stretch  ,,1'  wild  countrj  with  plenty  of 
cover  in  which  the  small  animals  find  shelter;  it  is  consequently 
also  the  haunt  of  some  of  the  larger  predaceous  animals  now 
ii,  ii!>  extinct  elsewhere  hereabouts.  In  the  last  five  years  I 
have  Found  the  j;ray  timber  unit'  there  once,  foxes  several 
Inn,-,  raccoons,  porcupines,  rattlesnakes,  and  nearh  everj 
year  the  bald  eagle  has  been  seen  nesting  somewhere  in  the 
region lust  as  the  flora  of  the  dunes  is  a  curious  mixture 


S8U»*r1 
Large  Vm 


IN    li  \  I  l.lln 


II. I 


l>l    M-    il  \\  I      Itl   I  \     It  I   MO' 
El  EVATION  IN    nc     R 


irlhcrn  species,  like  the  cactus  and  arbutus, 
that  -r..»  side  bj  side,  -•■  there  arc  found  animals  there  as 
neighbors  that  represent  the  desert  conditions  of  the  South- 
wesl and  the  | line  barrens  of  the  North.  Such  represental  ives 
,,f  usuallj  widely  separate  Faunas  arc  the  six  lined  lizard  that 

runs  i ver  with  such  celeritj  and  the  ruffed  grouse  that  a- 

a  ml ly  nests  in  the  pine  Forests  several  hundred  miles 


,.f  it,,-  [nt( 


PIIYSKHiRAPIIY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


farther  north.  Yet  both  these  animals  arc  quite  c< 

the  dunes You  also  find  a  group  of  animals  naturally 

foreign  to  this  latitude  Imt  brought  here  by  plants  thej  in- 
habit. The  varying  hare,  porcupine,  and  chipmunk  arc  here: 
such  hinls  a^  the  wood  pewee  and  red  eyed  vireo  nest  in  the 
mixed  evergreen  and  birch  thickets;  the  Pickering  tree  frog 
peeps  his  love  song;  and  numerous  woodboring  beetles  and 
hark  tunnelers  that  infest  only  the  conifers  an'  found  abund- 
antly  Because  of  the  congenial  cover  afforded  by  the 

evergreen  thickets  and  the  abundant  t I.  many  birds  arc 

found  during  the  spring  and  fall  migrations,  staying  days  and 

weeks  in  the  dunes,  that  would  not  loiter  at  all  in  the  Chicago 
region  were  it  not  for  the  attractions  of  this  particular  sec- 
tion. Such  are  the  raven,  cross-hills,  kinglets,  black-throated 
green  and  pine  warblers.  So  too  the  many  lakes  and  swamps 
of  the  region,  lying  in  the  depressions  between  the  sand  ridges, 
are  ideal  shelters  tor  the  waterfowl  on  their  way  to  or  from 
the  extensive  marshes  that  lie  near  to  the  south.  Wild  geese. 
ducks  of  all  sorts,  loons,  coots,  gallinules,  rails  and  a  variety 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  93-94. 


of  snipes  are  all   annual    visitors  and   some  of   them   regular 

residents.' 

•  ONSERA  ATION  OF    lilt   1)1  M  - 

At  numerous  points  large  areas  of  sand  dunes  have 
been  excavated  by  steam  shovels  and  hauled  away  to 
be  used  tor  construction  purposes.  While  a  reasonable 
amount  of  such  excavation  may  perhaps  be  justified,  the 
destruction  (if  some  of  the  very  finest  dune  area — as  at 
Dune  Park — is  nothing  short  of  tragic.  It  is  a  source  of 
gratification  that  a  large  area,  already  Hearing  2,000 
aeres,  has  been  acquired  by  the  Indiana  Department  of 
Conservation  asa  state  park.  Michigan,  also,  has  taken 
steps  to  protect  some  of  the  most  valuable  areas  by 
creating  state  parks,  and  the  total  destruction  of  the 
beautiful  dunes  is  thus  not  likely  to  occur.  It  is  sincerely 
to  be  hoped  that  further  protective  measures  will  be 
taken  either  by  the  state  or  federal  governments. 


Chapter  X 

THE  BED  ROCK  AND  ITS  SURFACE,  A  BURIED 
LANDSCAPE 


SEVERAL  Formations  are  represented  in  the  bed 
ruck  of  the  region  of  Chicago.  These  arc  com- 
posed of  limestone,  sandstone,  shale,  and  coal, 
limestone  being  by  Far  the  most  common  rock 
type,  coal  the  leasl  so.  Fossils  found  in  the  rocks  indi- 
cate  thai  the  various  formations  were  in  greal  pari  laid 
down  ;ii  the  bottom  of  seas  which  time  after  time  over- 
spread the  central  pari  of  the  continent. 

The  fossils  also  enable  geologists  to  determine  al 
whal  time  in  the  course  of  geologic  history  these  rocks 
wen-  Formed;  and  by  their  use  it  has  been  Found  thai 
in  the  region  of  Chicago  formations  representing  the  fol- 
lowing geologic  periods  occur:  Ordovician,  Silurian. 
Devonian,  and  Pennsylvanian.  All  of  these  periods  dale 
far  hack  into  geologic  time.  Thus  the  rocks  of  the  region 
of  <  Ihicago  an-  exl  remely  ancient,  their  age  being  meas- 
ured in  terms  of  millions  of  years. 

Originally  nearly  horizontal,  the  strata  of  Hie  region 
have  been  slightly  deformed  so  thai  their  general  dip  is 
toward  the  cast.  Ordinarily  tins  dip  is  so  slighl  as  to  be 
imperceptible.  Because  of  this  structure,  shown  in  Fig- 
ures  1  and   5,  the  younger   formations,  those  of  the 

Devonian  period,  are  al   the  surface  III  the  eastern  part 

of  the  region  of  Chicago  and  older  rocks  successively 
come  to  the  surface  as  one  goes  west  ward.  In  the  south- 
western corner  of  the  area,   however,  these  older  rocks 

arc  overlapped  by  the  younger  formations  of  the  Coal 

Measures.  The  latter  are  Continuous  southward  ami  arc 
part    of  an   area    known   as   the   "Eastern    Interior  Coal 

Basin"  thai  comprises  mosl  of  the  state  of  Illinois. 

HI  -i  RIP]  |i  i\    hi     |i  i|<\|  \  in  i\s 

The  following  are  generalized  descriptions  of  the 
formations  occurring  in  the  region  of  Chicago,  They 
are  given  in  the  order  of  then-  age  from  oldest  to  young- 
est, and  arc  located  in  Figure  I  I 


The  St.  Peter  formation  occupies  a  small  area  in  the 

southern  part  of  Kendall  County.    Il  consists  of  a  sand 

stoi f  unusual  purity  thai  is  usually  snow  white  where 

freshly  exposed.  As  a  rule  the  sand  grains  thai  compose 
it  arc  well  rounded  and  l.ut  slightly  cemented:  conse- 


quently the  rock  is  soft  and  easily  eroded.  Il  is  chiefly 
in  this  soft  standstone  thai  Starved  Rock  and  the  many 
neighboring  scenic  features  have  been  erode  I.  Because 
of  its  high  purity  and  softness  this  formation  is  an  im- 
portant source  of  sand  for  molding  and  glass-making, 

and  due  to  its  high  qualities  "Ottawa  sail  I"'  has  I, ecu 
adopted  by  the  American  Society  For  Testing  Mali-rials 
as  a  standard  for  the  line  aggregate  in  concrete. 

The  Galena-Platteville  formation  is  a  limestone  and 
magnesian  limestone  (dolomite)  formation  that  occupies 
two  areas:  one  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  region, 
in  Wisconsin,  and  one  along  the  middle  portion  of  the 
western  margin  of  the  region,  from  central  Kane  County 
south  to  northern  Grundy  County.  It  is  a  hard.  j;ray. 
Or  buff  limestone  I  hat  appears  massive  in  fresh  exposures 
lull   thin  bedded  and  "slaliliy"  where  weathered. 

The  Richmond  formation  extends  in  a  narrow  licit 
through  the  western  pari  of  the  region  from  the  northern 

boundary  as  far  south  as  the  Illinois  River  between 

Joliel  and  Morris.  An  isolated  patch  occurs  along  the 
Kankakee  River  near  Wilmington.  It  consists  of  a  gray- 
ish bluish,  or  greenish  shale  in  which  occur  layers  of 
limestone  that  vary  from  fine  to  coarse  textures.   Where 

freshly  exposed  the  limestone  is  gray,  hut  it  weathers  to 
a   I. row  11  color.     Because   of   the   shale    it    contains,   the 

formation  is  relatively  non-resistanl  to  erosion. 


The  Alexandrian  series  comprises  two  thin  limestone 

formations,    the    Edgew I    and    the    Kankakee,   at    the 

bottom  oftheSilurian  system.  Theydonol  differgreatly 

from  the  much  thicker  and  more  extensive  overlying 
Formation,  the  Niagaran,  and  are  therefore  nol  differ- 
entiated from  the  latter  on  the  geologic  map. 

The   Niagaran  formation    is  the  mosl   well-known 
formation  in  the  region,  because  of  the  prominence  <>f 

its  outcrops,  as  at  .loliet.  and  because  of  the  limesl • 

industries  to  which  ii  has  given  rise.  It  is  a  hard  dolo- 
mite, blue  or  gray  on  fresh  surfaces  and  yellow  where 
Ion-  exposed,  It  occurs  In  well-developed  layers  show- 
ing a  wide  range  in  thickness  fr less  than  an  inch  to 

•J  or  :>  feet.   Its  distribution,  as  shown  on  the  geologic 

map.  COVerS   more  I  hall   t  Wot  hi  ids  of  I  he  Chicago  area. 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


GEOLOGIC  MAP 

OF  THE 

*       REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


Fig.  I  i.     Geologic  map  of  the  region  of  Chicago.  (Data  furnished  by  the  U.S.  Geological  Survey  and  the  111.  Geological  Survey.) 


THE  HIM)  R()(  K  AM)  ITS  SURFACE 


In  the  eastern  pari  of  the  region  <>f  Chicago  in 
Iiuliana  (lie  rin'k<  encountered  in  deep  «dK  have  been 
found  to  be  Devonian  in  age.  'liny  include  a  shale  for- 
mation NCu  AJbany),  a  limestone  (Corniferous),  and  a 
sandstone    Pendleh  >n 

II  \\-l  IV   V\I  w 

The  formations  of  the  Pennsylvanian,  together  con- 
stituting the  Coal  Measures,  lie  in  the  southwestern 
corner  of  the  region,  their  distribution  corresponding 
roughly  to  the  Morris  Basin.  The  three  fori  nation-  thai 
arc  recognized  the  Pottsville,  Carbondale,  and  Mc- 
Leansboro  named  from  bottom  to  top  in  a  vertical  sec- 
tion exhibit  greater  diversity  than  do  the  other  for- 
mations that  have  been  described,  consisting  of  alter- 
nating beds  of  sandstone,  limestone,  -hale,  and  coal. 
The  coal  occurs  iii  layers  up  to  ::  feel  thick,  thai  i-.  in 
workable  layer-.  This  i-  the  nearest  occurrence  of  coal 
to  Chicago. 

-I  HI   M  I     hi     i  hi     in  ii   BOCK 

Though  the  surface  of  the  bed  rock  i-  largely  bidden 
beneath  the  great  accumulations  of  glacial  deposits  left 
by  repeated  glacial  advances,  conclusions  relative  to  its 
character  may  be  drawn  from  data  obtained  in  drilling 
wells,  digging  foundations,  etc.  These  data  indicate 
dearly  that  the  surface  of  the  bed  rock  is  not  flat  but 
i-  diversified  by  the  presence  of  ridges,  hills,  and  val- 
leys in  much  l he  same  fashion  a-  i-  our  presenl  land- 
scape. Indeed,  we  are  here  actually  concerned  with  a 
buried  land-cape,  that  which  existed  prior  to  glaciation. 
It-  major  features  an-  unchanged,  though  it  i-  known 
that    the  overriding  glaciers  in  - e  cases  rounded  oil' 

the  hill-  and  -cured  out  Hie  valley-  thai  trended  m 
Hie  direction  of  the  in-  flow. 

While  data   are   not    yet    numerous  enOUgb    Iii   make 

possible  the  construction  of  a  map  of  the  entire  region 
of  Chicago  showing  the  feature-  of  the  buried  preglacial 
surface,  several  such  map-  have  been  made  for  pari-  of 

the  area   that   have  been   Studied   in  detail.    Dr.   William 

('.  Alden,  of  the  United  Slate-  Geological  Survey,  has 
prepared  a  map  for  southeastern  Wisconsin;1  and  Pro- 
fessor D.J,  Fisher  one  for  the  Joliet  region.1  These  maps 
an-  of  meat  interest,  and  indicate  that  the  preglacial 
topography  was  very  similar  to  thai  of  the  present  sur- 
face, though  a-  a  rule  more  rilled:  and  thai   the  elev  .,- 

tions  and  lowlands  of  the  present  surface  do  not  usually 
correspond  to  elevation-  and  lowlands  in  Hie  Led  rock 
beneath.  For  example.  Hie  Chicago  Plain  i-  nearly  il.-it . 
yet  the  underlying  Niagara  limestone  ha-  an  extremely 
uneven  surface.  On  the  plain  I  he  drift  mu-t  be  thin  over 


Publu 
■  Publia 


rical  Sum  ii.  Profi 
Illinois  Geological  Surrey,  Hull.  .'.;. 


the  bed-rock  hill-,  and  thick  over  the  lied-rock  low- 
land-. Such  lack  of  correspondence  between  the  bed- 
rock topography  and  the  surface  topography  i-  the  rule 
throughout  the  region  of  Chicago,  though  exception- 
occur,  a-  in  the  case  of  the  Lake  Geneva  Basin,  which 
corresponds  to  a  preglacial  valley  of  considerable  size. 

The  character  of  the  lied-rock  surface  involve-  im- 
port an  I  practical  considerations.  It  is  often  desirable, 
for  example  to  lie  alile  to  predict  the  depth  to  which 
wells  and  foundation-  mu-t  lie  -link  before  they  will 
reach  the  lied  rock:  hut  the  nature  of  the  bed-rock  -ur- 
face  i-  such  that  often  predictions  can  !»•  made  only 
within  wide  limits.  Al  one  point  the  bed  rock  may  be 
quickly  reached  because  a  buried  hill  or  divide  i-  en- 
countered; whereas  at  a  point  only,  a  few  hundred  feel 
away  it  may  lie  necessary  to  proceed  ."ill  or  Kill  feet 
deeper  because  of  a  buried  valley.  Attempts  to  map  in 
detail  the  buried  bed-rock  topography  underlying  the 
downtown  section  of  Chicago  have  been  made,  hut  to 

date  with  no  great  SUCCeSS,  due  to  the  lack  of  -llllii  lent 
recorded  information.  Could  such  a  map  lie  prepared 
with  accuracy  it  would  he  of  great  value.  The  -lope  of 
the  surface,  the  solidity  of  the  rock,  and  the  character  of 

the  material  resting  on  the  lied  rock  are  of  importance 
in  connection  with  the  laying  of  foundation-  for  high 
buildings.  Caisson-workers  find  it  necessary  to  continue 
their  hole-  for  some  distance  after  -t riking  rock  in  order 
that  they  may  feel  fully  assured  that  they  have  reached 

-olid  bed  rock  and  not  some  loose  and  insecure  ledge. 
Fortunately,  the  glaciers  in  most  cases  stripped  off  most 

of  the  decayed  portion-  of  the  lied  rock  and  left  a  dean. 

linn  surface. 

Ill    M Till      HI   11-KiH  k    -I    HI    \.    I 

The  depths  at  which  lied  lock  now  lie-  an-  indicated 
in  part  by  the  -oil  map  (Plate  IV  which  -how-  the 
areas  where  soils  re-t  direct  lv  on  lied  rock  (usually  less 
than  :s  t  i  and  in  pari  by  Figure  15  which  -how-  in  gen- 
eralized form  the  relali. f  the  bed  lock  to  the  present 

surface. 

Leveret  t  make-  the  follow  ill-  -latemenl  alioiit  the 
area  : 

'I'll.-  thickness  of  the  drift  is  so  great  in  tin-  northeastern 
Fourth  of  Illinois  as  to  convej  a  false  idea  of  the  altitude  of  the 
rock  surface  in  that  region.  Were  the  drift  coating  entirely  re- 
moved, the  average  elevation  would  probahlv  be  as  Ion  as  the 
surface  ol  Lake  Michigan,  ami  possiblj  it  would  uo1  exceed 

.on  feel  above  tide.  This  low  altitude  extends  eastward  - e 

distance  into  Indiana.  The  low  altitude  of  this  district,  as  well 
a-  that  "f  tin-  Lake  Michigan  basin,  probabh  influenced  the 
ice  How  and  inv  it.d  it-  great  southward  extension  in  I 
of  Illinois.4 

/'  ii  rum  ,  1914),  p,  590 

'  /  'nitea  '  p.  8. 


to 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


On  the  Lake  Plain  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago,  the 
bed  rock  lies  from  0  to  130  feel  below  the  surface  with 
an  estimated  average  of  .">()  feet.'  A  map  prepared  by 
Samuel  <>.  Artingstall,  ;i  former  city  engineer  of  Chi- 
cago, showed  a  valley  with  a  floor  100  lL2."i  feel  below 
the  level  of  the  lake  crossing  the  north-central  part  of 
Chicago  and  entering  the  lake  south  of  Lincoln  Park- 


CD  »lo  50  feet  I 


E23  Ovens  Feeilhick 


I'ii,.  15.  Depth  iif  r.«k  mantle.  Map  (after  Leverett)  showing 
average  thickness  of  the  glacial  debris  in  the  central  part  of  tin- 
region  .if  Chicago.  In  the  outlying  parts  not  shown,  these  surface 
materials  are  over  75  ft.  in  thickness 

drift  for  points 


Levered  givesthe  follow 

ingthi 

■k. 

esses  of 

on  the  Lake  Plain  in  m 

rthen 

Ii 

diana:8 

Hobart 

\in-i  heastern 

•orter  < 

lot 

nty 

Michigan  Citj 

A  few  outcrops  occi 

r  on  1 

,c 

Lake   PI 

or  ridges  of  t be  l>c<l  roi 

k  reac 

.  the  su 

posiires  at   Stony    Isl.in 

1   anil 

Tl 

ornton 

1  Geographic  Society  oj  < 

icago,  1 

nil. 

7.  p.  .">. 

■  United  stairs  Geological 

Survey, 

Mo 

log.   IS,  p 

Ibid.,  pp.  125  86. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  885. 

ones;  others  occur  at  Bridgeport,  Hawthorne,  River- 
side, and  Lyons,  al  Twenty-ninth  Street  and  at  several 
places  within  the  city  of  Chicago. 

In  the  Chicago  nutlet.3  except  where  terraces  occur, 
the  bed  rock  is  at  or  relatively  near  the  surface  through- 
out, as  a  result  of  the  stripping  that  took  place  during 
the  great  How  of  water  through  the  outlet.  The  cliffs 
between  Joliet  and  the  head  of  the  outlet  afford  by  far 
the  most  extensive  exposures  of  Led  rock  in  the  region 
of  Chicago.  Between  Summit  and  Lemont  the  solid 
rock  is  only  occasionally  seen  at  the  surface,  although 
the  floor  of  the  outlet  is  littered  with  coarse  river  debris 
consisting  largely  of  limestone  blocks.  From  Lemont  to 
Joliet  the  exposures  of  bed  rock  are  almost  continuous. 
From  Joliet  to  the  head  of  the  Illinois  River  about  half 
the  floor  is  covered  with  drift  or  river  debris  so  that  the 
depth  to  bed  rock  is  not  known;  the  remainder  is  cither 
bed  rock  or  rock  covered  with  a  thin  deposit  of  coarse 
river  debris.  The  part  of  the  outlet  that  crosses  the 
Morris  Basin  has  a  floor  of  shale  either  exposed  or  cov- 
ered with  a  thin  deposit  of  sand. 

On  the  Lake  Border  Upland  the  bed  rock  is  deeply 
buried  under  glacial  drift.  The  following  depths  to  bed 
rock  are  reported  by  Leverett:4 

Feet 

Lake  Forest 160 

Highland  Park Kiu-7.5 

Winnetka 150 

Near  Northbrook  .147 

At  Racine  the  thickness  of  deposits  on  bed  rock 
varies  from  100  to  125  feet;  at  Union  Grove  a  thickness 
of  195  feet  was  found,  the  maximum  for  Racine  (  ounty. ' 

No  out  crops  of  consequence  occur  in  the  Illinois  por- 
tion of  the  province.  In  Wisconsin  outcrops  that  deserve 
mention  occur  at  Ives  and  along  the  lower  part  of  Root 
River,  in  Racine  County.6 

On  the  Valparaiso  Upland  the  bed  rock  lies  far 
below  the  surface.  In  Kenosha  County  the  drift  is  gen- 
erally from  .")()  to  100  feet  thick  and  in  many  instances 
100  220  feci  thick.7  At  Burlington,  in  Racine  County, 
the  drift  is  50  or  60  feet  thick.  The  usual  range  for  this 
county  is  reported  as  being  from  25  to  100  feet.  In  Wal- 
worth County  thicknesses  up  to  329  feet  are  known. 

From  the  Illinois  and  Indiana  portions  of  this  up- 
land Leverett8  reports  the  following  depths  at  which 
bed  rock  was  encountered : 


Al  Ivanhoe,  III.,  on  crest 

'  llllls      Near  Lake  Zurich,  on  crest 

ie  ex-     Crest  east  of  Warn  inula 

good      Crest  south  of  Barrington 

■■  Wisconsin  Geological  and  Natural  History  ■ 
>Ibid.,  Bull.  ;j.|..  135. 
Ibid.,  Bull.  35,  p.  895. 
/  niied  States  Geological  Survey,  Monog.  38 


THE  Bill)  ROCK  AND  ITS  SURFACE 


'"'  feel  along  the  Minooka  moraine  to  20  or  30  feel  nexl 

vi:;!Jt::;\:z::"  Z.Z  ^^-^y^  ** n .-. 

NearSchaumberg,  along  ,  rest  bas  an  avera«e  dePth  '"  l"''1  rock  "''  ::"    in  {«*<  •""•  "> 

Arlington  Heights,  al  ou1  150  feet  below  crest  128  Places  f*3  ;|1  Manteno  rock  ridges  rise  to  the  surface  of 

Crest  south  of  Bloomingdale  162  ,l"'  lll;lln  '""l  outcrop. 

[taaca  72  1"   the  Morris-Kankakee  Basin   bed   rock   is  al    or 

Bensenvillc  91  near  the  surface  throughout   the  Illinois  portion.   I{<- 

Ehnhursl  us  garding  the  Morris  Basin,  Leveretl  states  as  follows: 

Cre81  "'  N»l  '  "  i,le'  easl  ' '"'  The  drift  along  the  border  of  the  Marseilles  raine  has 

DownersGrove  113  generally  a  thickness  of  100  feet  or  more,  bul  upon  descending 

<  rest  northwest  ol  Lemon!  ISO  ,,„.  ,.,,„.  ,„„..„,,  ,,„.  bead  (>r  ,,„.  j||n|(„s  ||lr  thickness  ,,. 

Crest  ...  moraineeasl  ol  Lockporl  115  ,,.,,,_,  and  ,,„,.,.  ;l,,.  extensive  iiri,„  m  ,,„,,,,,  Gnmdy 

Monee,  on  crest  180  southwestern  Will,  and  northern  Kankakee  counties,  where 

l!,''''''"'r  ""'  rock  is  encountered  at  very  slight  depth,  so  that  the  shallow 

■  hica*°  He'Shts  :i"  ravines  and  shallow  wells  and  even  the  cellar  bottoms  reach  it.< 

Crown  Point,  [nd  176 

Hebron 108  As  shown  on  the  soil  map,  there  are  large  tracts  wesl 

Valparaiso  125  of  Kankakee  and  south  of  Momence  where  the  sand 

Laporte  295  rests  dinvtly  on  bed  rock  and  a  number  of  outcrops 

Two  miles  north  of  Wheeler  200  occur. 

N,:"'("l"ir«  l,s  In  the  Older  Upland  the  bed  rock  through the 

88  northern  portion  (except  over  the  Aurora  Plain    is  deep- 

The  foregoing  data  indicate  thai  thegreatesl  depths  ly  buried;  Leverett6  reports  thicknesses  of  glacial  drift 

to  bed  rock  are  encountered  in  the  northern  and  eastern  ranging  from  less  than   100  360  feet.   In  the  southern 

portions   of   the    Valparaiso    Upland,   and    the   lesser  part  of  the  Aurora  Plain  the  bed  rock  lies  within  20   10 

depths  in  the  middle  portion.  feel  of  the  surface"  and  some  outcrops  occur  along  the 

Oiiicr,,,,.  are  rare.   In  the  town  of  Spring  Prairie,  in  Fox  River.  The  depth  of  the  bed  rock  over  the  middle 

Walworth  County,  there  are  a  few.   In  Racine  County  portion  of  the  Outer  Upland  ranges  from  over  100  feet 

there  are  outcrops  wesl  of  Burlington.1  In  the  Illinois  al  the  western  end  to  about  60  feel  in  the  vicinity  of 

portion,   outcrops   occur   al    Elmhurst,    in    Du    Page  St.  Anne.   In  the  Indiana  portion  of  the  Outer  Upland 

County,*  and  near  La  Grange,  in  Cook  County.  the  drift   is  probably  everywhere  over  100  feel   thick 

On  the  Manieno  Plain,  according  to  Leverett,' the  except   south  of  Medarville  in  Pulaski  County,  where 

depth  iif  bed  rock  in  the  northern  part  ranges  from  100  the  drifl  begins  to  Hun  toward  the  south. 

H  Geological  and  Natural  History  Survey,  Bull.  3$,  p.  74, 

I  C      . . need  Survey,  Bull.  («,  p.  113. 

1  United  States  Geological  Survey,  Monog.  18,  p.  325. 

'  Ibid.,  pp.  315-lfl  '  Ibid.,  pp.  292,  S11    12.  I  p.  283. 


Chapter  XI 

THE  SURFACE  MATERIALS,  BASIS  OF  OUR 
AGRICULTURAL  WEALTH 


S[NCE  the  thickness  of  the  materials  overlying 
bed  rock  ranges  from  0  to  :!.">0  feet  in  different 
parts  of  the  region  and  for  t lie  most  part  ex- 
ceeds 15  feet,  it  is  evident  that  the  surface  ma- 
terials and  not  the  bed  rock  constitute  the  major  factor 
in  determining  the  geographic  development  of  the 
region. 

Glacial  drift,  often  called  "bowlder  clay"  or  "till," 
constitutes  the  great  bulk  of  the  surface  material  over  the 
region  of  ( Ihicago  particularly  on  the  uplands  and  plains. 
It  was  either  heaped  up  under  the  edge  of  the  glacier  in 
the  form  of  terminal  moraines  or  left  under  the  body  of 
the  glacier  to  form  the  more  level  deposits  known  as 
ground  moraines  or  "till  plains."  Ordinarily  the  drift  is 
composed  of  a  matrix  of  blue  or  buff  clay  in  which  are 
imbedded  stones  of  various  sizes  and  kinds.  Glacial 
drift  has  aptly  been  characterized  as  "homogeneous  in 
its  heterogeneity."  and  its  lack  of  assortment  affords  a 
reaily  means  of  identification.  While  the  stones  gen- 
erally range  in  size  from  small  pebbles  to  moderately 
sized  bowlders,  they  are  occasionally  found  as  large  as 
12    IS  feel  in  diameter. 

In  the  region  of  Chicago  most  of  the  stones  arc  of 
limestone:  there  is,  however,  a  fairly  high  percentage  of 
granitic  rocks  and  other  types  foreign  to  the  immediate 
vicinity  but  known  to  occur  in  the  country  over  which 
the  glacier  moved,  that  is.  north  and  northeast  of  the 
(ireat  Lakes  region.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  larger 
bowlders  arc  ordinarily  of  these  foreign-rock  types  for 
the  reason  that  they  are  more  resistant  than  the  lime- 
stone. The  stones  tend  to  be  angular  in  shape  and  flat 
faced,  very  unlike  the  pebbles  modeled  by  water  on 
shores  and  beaches.  Scratches  may  sometimes  be  found 
on  the  rock  faces,  indicative  of  glacial  origin.  The  clay 
in  which  the  stones  occur  consists  of  pulverized  rock  in 
which  limestone  is  again  the  most  important  constitu- 
ent of  the  various  kinds  represented.  The  upper  2-  or 
3-fool  /one  ill  a  deposit  of  glacial  drift  is  often  buff  in- 
stead of  blue,  as  a  result  of  oxidation  at  (he  surface:  and 
in  this  portion  the  limestone  is  more  or  less  leached  out. 
The  loess  is  a  fine,  wind  blow  n  material,  usually 
light    bull'   in   color,   that    i any    parts   of   the   region 


a  few  inches  to  several  feet.  It  is  believed  that  the  loess 
was  derived  from  finely  ground  rock  originally  spread 
out  in  the  stream  valleys  and  bottom  lands  flooded  by 
water  from  the  melting  glacier.  This  light,  flourlike  stuff 
was  subsequently  whipped  up  from  the  outwash  flats  by 
the  wind  and  carried  out  over  the  uplands.  The  loess 
differs  strikingly  from  the  glacial  drift  upon  which  it 
usually  rests  in  being  free  from  pebbles  and  bowlders. 
No  doubt  it  was  formerly  more  widespread  than  is  now 
the  case,  having  been  stripped  away  from  many  locali- 
ties by  erosion.  Though  poorly  developed  in  the  region 
of  Chicago  as  compared  with  the  great  thicknesses  in 
which  it  occurs  in  the  nearby  Mississippi  Valley,  the 
loess  is  nevertheless  of  very  great  importance,  for  it  is 
largely  from  it  that  our  present  soils  have  been  de- 
veloped. 

Gravel  occurs  in  large  deposits  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  the  region  of  Chicago  (see  glacial  and  soil  maps  i, 
chiefly  along  present  or  former  drainage  lines.  The  de- 
posits take  the  form  of  gravel  hills  or  of  broad  plains 
according  to  manner  of  deposition.  The  outwash  plains 
are  the  most  common  and  extensive  form  of  deposit, 
though  frequently,  as  near  Joliet.  they  have  been 
dissected  by  streams  so  that  they  are  now  no  longer 
continuous  plains  but  terraces  instead.  The  gravels  were 
deposited  by  water  flowing  out  from  the  melting 
glacier,  and  have  the  characteristics  of  water-laid  ma- 
terials in  that  ( 1  !  they  arc  stratified.  (2)  they  are  rough- 
ly assorted  according  to  size,  and  (8)  the  materials  of 
which  they  are  composed  are  more  or  less  rounded.  The 
extremes  of  size  that  characterize  glacial  till  arc  here 

Sand  occurs  along  with  gravel  as  an  outwash  de- 
posit :  frequently  the  gravels  arc  sandy  or  are  int  erst  rat  i- 
licd  with  beds  of  sand,  and  some  entire  outwash  de- 
posits consist  of  material  no  coarser  than  sand.  In  the 
Morris-Kankakee  Basin  sand  makes  up  the  bulk  of  the 
surface  deposits,  gravel  being  present  in  insignificant 
quantit  ies. 

/,,//,-,  deposits.  While  it  may  seem  surprising  that 
lacustrine  clays  should  be  practically  absent  over  the 
Lake  Plain  since  it  was  so  long  under  the  surface  of 
Lake  Chicago,  nevertheless  t  his  is  the  case.    Possibly  the 


5URFACE  MATERIALS,  BASIS  OF  1)111  AORKTI.  II  RAI.  WEALTH 


finer  materials  suspended  in  the  lake  water  were  carried 
away  by  the  vigorous  current  thai  flowed  toward  and 
through  iIk1  <  Ihicago  outlet :  or,  if  any  deposits  did  form 
the  lowering  of  the  water  level  during  successive  hike 
stages  may  have  enabled  the  waves  I"  cut  into  an<l 
remo\  e  them. 

There  are  extensive  -and  deposits  over  the  surface 
of  the  Lake  Plain,  some  of  which  were  derived  from  the 
re-working  of  glacial  drift  on  the  bottom  of  Lake  Chi- 
cago and  some  of  which  are  the  result  of  deposition  by 
Lake  Michigan.  For  the  greater  pari  these  deposits  are 
underlaid  l.\  glacial  drift. 

The  beach  ridges  of  the  Chicago  Plain  (see  glacial 
map)  are  composed  of  gravel,  frequently  quite  sandy 
and  containing  -mall,  well-rounded  pebbles. 

Various  -and.  clay,  and  ill  deposits  occur  in  the 
Morris  Basin,  and  are  believed  to  represenl  deposits 
laid  down  on  the  bottom  of  the  temporary  lake  that 
occupied  this  area  for  a  time  after  the  withdrawal  of  the 
ice  fr<  an  I  lie  region. 

-i  »ILS 

The  present  soils  are  th 
tions  which  have  lake,,  plac 
2  or  3  feet  below  the  surfa< 
that  cover  the  region.  Most  of  the  soils  have  Keen  de- 
veloped from  the  mantle  of  loess,  though  some  are  de- 
rived from  the  other  materials,  [mmediately  after  then- 
deposition,  these  materials  beg) indergo  gradual 

changes  which  have  continued  to  the  present  time  and 
are  -till  in  progress.  Much  of  the  lime  was  dissolved  out 
Dg  through  these  materials  from 
pul- 
I 


product  of  certain  alien 
in  a  zone  extending  dow 


by   waters   percola 

the  surface.  The  fresh  rock  partick- 

verized  by  the  glacier,  were  decomp 

by  weathering.  Plants  spread  over  the  Kan 

and  by  their  decay  contributed  organic  i 

mineral-  already  in  the  ground.  The  action 


Ion  a  different  nomenclature  but  are  based  upon  simi- 
lar principles  of  classification.  The  classification  and 
nomenclature  of  the  Illinois  Soil  Survey  are  followed 
in  this  discussion.  In  establishing  soil  types,  the  Survey 
lake-  into  account  the  following  factors: 

Horizon.  A  layer  or  stratum  of  soil  which  differs  discern- 
il  1}  1 1  "in  i  hose  adjacenl  in  color,  texture,  structure,  chemical 
composition,  or  a  combination  of  these  characteristics,  is  called 
an  horizon. 

I),  pth  and  Thickness.  The  horizons  or  layers  which  make 
up  the  -oil  profile  vary  in  depth  and  thickness.  These  varia- 
tions are  distinguishing  teat  lire-  iii  the  separation  of  soils  into 


:,"  i-  a  most  ,, ii porta,, I  featui 
ixture  depends  upon  the  rels 


or  les 

d  broken  up 
sn  landscape 

alter   tO    the 

■f  their  roots 
ami  of  alternate  freezing  and  thawing  during  the  chang- 
ing seasons  served  to  loo-en  the  ground  and  make  it  -i  ill 
better  adapted  for  plants.  These  processes,  operating 
jointly  upon  different  original  material-  and  to  different 
degrees  in  various  localities,  have  given  pise  to  the 
diverse  soils  of  I  he  area. 

Soil  types  in  large  number  have  Keen  differentiated 
by  the  Soil  Survey  of  the  University  of  Illinois  Agri- 
cultural Experiment  Station,  in  the  various  counties 
which  it  ha-  studied  and  mapped.  In  1916  sixty-two  soil 
types  had  been  recognized  in  the  state.'  The  latest  re 
port  published  for  northeastern  Illinois  is  that  on 
Grundy  County  issued  in  1924,  and  ii  recognized  in  thai 
county  no  less  than  thirty-nine  -nil  type-.  The  surveys 
conducted  by  the  Wisconsin  Soil  Survey  and  the  Bureau 
if  Soil-.  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  fol- 

•  Summary  of  Illinois  So\    I  '•  of  Illinois  A 

Ubid.,Soil  Rep.  .■>■.  p.  S6.  '  Uml..  pp.  6  7. 


Physical  Composition.  T 
times  referred  to  as  "texture, 
characterizing  a  soil.  Tl 
I  roporl  ions  of  t  he  follow  ing  phj  sical  constituents:  clay,  silt, 
fi,i'-  -and.  -and.  gravel,  -tone-,  and  organic  material. 

Structure.  The  term  "structure"  has  reference  to  the  ag- 
gregation of  particle- within  the  -oil  ma—  and  carries  such 
qualifying  terms  as  open,  granular,  compact. 

Organic-Matter  Content.  The  organic  matter  oi  soil  is  de 
rived  mainl}  Iron,  plant  tissue  and  ii  exists  in  a  more  or  less 
advanced  stage  of  decomposition.  « trganic  matter  constitutes 

formal  ion. 

Color.  Color  i-  determined  to  a  large  extent  bj  the  pro- 
portion of  organic  matter,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  modified 
by  the  mineral  constituents,  especially  bj  iron  compound-. 

Reaction.  The  term  "reaction"  refer-  to  the  chemical  state 
of  the  soil  with  respect  to  acid  or  alkaline  condition.  If  also 
involves   the   idea   of  degree  as   strong!}    acid   or   strongly 

alkaline. 

CarbonaU  Content.  Thecarl ate  content  has  refer to 

the  calcium  carl ale  (limest ■<  present,  which  in  some 

cases  maj  be  associated  with  magnesium  or  other  carbonates 
The  dept I,  at  » hich  carbonates  are  found  may  become  a  ver} 
important  lac  tor  in  determining  the  soil  tj  pe. 

Topography.  Topograph}  has  reference  to  the  la}  of  the 
land,  as  level,  rolling,  hilly,  etc. 

Native  Vegetation.  The  vegetation  or  plant  growth  before 
being  disturbed  bj  man.  as  prairie  grasses  and  forest  trees,  ,- 
a  Feature  frequently  recognized  ,,,  deten ing  soil  types. 

Geological  Origin.  Geological  origin  involves  the  idea  of 
character  of  rock  material-  composing  the  soil  as  well  as  the 
method  ol  forma I  the  soil 


On  the  basis  of  the  foregoing  factor-,  the  S, 


had 


mapped  the  following  soil  typ 

C ,tv.  The  list  ,-  selected  a 

Chicago, 

a     I  pland  Prairie  Soils 

Brown  Sill  Loan, 

Black  Claj  Loan, 

ltrou ,,  Sand}  Loam 

Brown  Silt  Loa i  Tight  CI 

i/  Experimental  Station,  Bull.  19, 


:urring  in  Grundy 
I  for  the  n 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


Brown-Gray  Silt  Loam  on  Tight  Clay 
Brown-Gray  Sandy  Loam  on  Tight  Clay 
Brown-Gray  Clay  Loam  on  Tight  Clay 
Brown-Sandy  Loam  on  Gravel 
6)   Upland  Timber  Soils 
Yellow-Gray  Silt  Loam 
Yellow  Silt  Loam 
Yellow-Gray  Sandy  Loam 

Dune  Sand 

c)  Terrace  Soils 
Brown  Silt  Loam 
Black  Clay  Loam 
Brown  Sandy  Loam 
Yellow-Gray  Silt  Loam 
Yellow-Gray  Sandy  Loam 
Brown-Gray  Silt  Loam  on  Tight  Clay 
Brown-Gray  Sandy  Loam  on  Tight  Clay 
Dune  Sand 

Black  Sandy  Loam 
Brown  Sandy  Loam  on  Rock 
Brown  Silt  Loam  on  Rock 
Brown  Sandy  Loam  over  Gravel 
Yellow-Gray  Sandy  Loam  on  Gravel 
Brown  Sandy  Loam  on  Gravel 

d)  Swamp  and  Bottom-Land  Soils 
Deep  Brown  Silt  Loam 
Mixed  Loam 

Black  Clay  Loam 
Brown  Sandy  Loam 
Black  Mixed  Loam 
Peaty  Loam  on  Clay 
Medium  Peat  on  Clay 
Deep  Peat 
Muck  on  Clay 
Muck  on  Marl 

e)  Residual  Soils 
Brown-Sandy  Loam  on  Rock 
Yellow-dray  Sandy  Loam  on  Hock 
Rock  Outcrop 

The  composition  of  these  soil  types  is  indicated  by 
the  following  table  of  standards  used  by  the  Survey: 
Peats — Consisting  of  •'!■">  percent  or  more  of  organic  matter, 

sometimes  mixed  with  more  or  less  sand  or  silt. 
Peaty  foaww— Soils  with    15   to  •'!.">  percent   of  organic  matter 

mixed  with  much  sand.   Sonic  silt  and  a  little  clay  may 

lie  present. 
Murhs    Soils  with   l.»  to  35  percent  of  partly  decomposed 

organic  matter  mixed  with  much  clay  and  silt. 
Clays     Soil-,  with  more  than  25  percent  of  clay,  usually  mixed 
u  Mli  much  silt. 

Clay  loams     Soils  with  from  15  to  25  percent  of  clay,  usually 

mixed  with  much  silt  and  some  sand. 
Silt  loams      Soils  with   more  than  50  percent   of  silt   and   less 

than  15  percent  of  clay,  mixed  with  some  -and. 
Loams     Soils   with   from   .'!(!  to  .")()  percent  of  sand  mixed  with 

much  silt  and  a  little  clay. 

Saudi/  loams      Soils  with  from  .">()  to  ".">  percent  of  -and. 

'  Ibid.,  Soil  Rep.  16,  p.  15.  Ibid.,  Soil  Rep.  26,  p.  1 


Fine  sandy  loams-    Soil- with  from  50  to  75  percent  of  fine  sand 

mixed  with  much  silt  and  a  little  clay. 
Sands     Soils  with  more  than  7.5  percent  of  sand. 

Gravelly  hams — Soils  with  '-'.">  to  .">(>  percent  of  gravel  with 
much  sand  and  some  silt. 

Gravels  Soils  with  more  than  .30  percent  of  gravel  and  much 
sand. 

Stony  loams — Soils  containing  a  considerable  number  of  stones 
over  one  inch  in  diameter. 

Rock  outcrop — Usually  ledges  of  rock  having  no  direct  agri- 
cultural value.1 

AYhile  a  detailed  consideration  of  all  the  soil  types 
occurring  in  the  region  of  Chicago  lies  beyond  the  scope 
of  this  report,  the  characteristics  and  distribution  of 
the  main  groups  may  be  briefly  outlined. 

UPLAND   PRAIRIE  SOILS 

Owing  to  the  accumulation  of  organic  matter,  derived 
very  largely  from  the  roots  of  the  prairie  grasses  that  once 
covered  the  land,  the  soils  of  this  group  are  dark  in  color,  vary- 
ing from  dark  brown  to  black.  The  network  of  comparatively 
thick  roots  of  these  grasses  was  protected  from  complete  de- 
composition by  imperfect  aeration  resulting  from  the  covering 
of  fine,  moist,  soil  material.  The  flat  prairie  contains  a  higher 
amount  of  organic  matter  than  the  more  rolling  land  because 
the  grasses  grew  more  luxuriantly  there  and  the  higher 
moisture  content  retarded  the  decay  of  their  roots.  The  ma- 
terial resulting  from  this  partial  decomposition  is  a  black  sub- 
stance of  varying  chemical  composition.  Some  of  it  has  prob- 
ably been  in  the  soil  for  many  thousands  of  years  and  has 
reached  a  stage  similar  to  coal.  It  is  almost  wholly  resistant 
to  decay.  This  old  organic  matter,  as  well  as  that  more  recent- 
ly formed,  gives  a  dark  color  to  the  soil.2 

This  group  has  much  the  widest  distribution  of  any 
in  the  region  of  Chicago.  It  reaches  its  most  extensive 
development  on  the  uplands,  particularly  south  of  the 
Chicago  outlet.  In  the  rougher  portions  of  the  uplands, 
in  Indiana,  northern  Illinois,  and  Wisconsin,  this  group 
of  soils  is  confined  to  the  higher  parts  of  the  moraines. 

UPLAND  TIMBER  soils 
The   Upland   timber  soils  occur  as  irregular  zones  along 
streams  and  on  or  near  somewhat  steep  morainal  ridges.  They 
are  characterized  by  a  yellowish  grey  color,  due  to  their  low 

organic-matter  content.  The  deficiency  of  organic  matter  has 
been  caused  by  the  long-continued  growth  of  forest  trees. 
After  the  forest  invaded  the  prairies  two  effects  were  produced: 
first,  the  shade  from  the  trees  prevented  the  growth  of  prairie 

grasses,  the  roots  of  which  are  mainly  responsible  for  the  large 
organic-matter  content  in  prairie  soils:  second,  the  trees  them- 
selves added  wry  little  organic  matter  to  the  soil,  for  the 
leaves  and  branches  either  decayed  completely  or  were  burned 

by  forest  fires.  Furthermore,  the  organic  matter  that  had  been 
produced  by  the  prairie  grasses  became  gradually  dissipated 
during  the  occupation  of  the  land  by  the  trees.  As  a  result, 
the  organic-matter  content  of  the  upland  timber  soils  has 


RFACE  MATERIALS,  BASIS  OF  <>!]{  AGRICULTURAL  WEALTH 


been  reduced  until  it  is  decidedly  lower  than  thai  of  the  ad- 
jacent prairie  land.  Several  generations  of  trees  were  neces 
-ar.\  to  produce  the  present  condition  of  1 1 1 » -  soil.1 

In  addition  to  the  belts  of  I lu-^<-  soils  thai  usually 
<w<-iir  along  the  courses  of  streams  and  on  the  slopes  of 

stee] aines,  there  are  broad  areas  fr northern 

l)u  Page  and  Kane  counties  northward  into  Wisconsin. 
It  is  a  dominanl  soil  group  in  McHenry,  Lake,  Wal- 
worth, Kenosha,  and  Racine  counties.  Where  il  occurs 
along  with  die  upland  prairie  soils,  il  usually  occupies 
the  valleys  and  slopes  of  the  moraines,  whereas  the 
latter  occupy  the  crest-. 

1 1  as  id   soils 

I  errace  soils  are  for I  on  terraces  or  old  fills  in  valley-. 

The  terraces  owe  their  formation  generally  to  the  deposition 
of  materia]  fn verloaded  streams  «  bich  became  greatly  en- 
larged and  which  II led  the  valleys  during  the  melting  of  the 

glaciers.  Sometimes  these  valleys  were  filled  almost  to  the 
height  of  the  upland.  Later  the  streams  cu1  down  thru  the 
till-  ami  developed  new  bottom  lands,  or  flood  plains,  ;it  lower 
levels,  leaving  part  of  the  old  fills  as  terraces.  The  lowesl  and 
most  nccntly  formed  bottom  land  is  called  first  bottom.  The 
higher  land  no  longer  II led  (or  very  rarelj .  at  most  I  i-  gen- 
eral!} designated  as  second  bottom.  Finer  material  later  de- 
posited on  the  sand  and  gravel  of  the  till  constitutes  the  min- 
eral portion  of  the  soil.  Along  some  of  the  streams  the  fill 
seems  to  have  been  made  almost  entirely  of  fine,  siltj  ma- 
terial.1 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  terrace  soils  the  Soil 
Survey  recognizes  the  water-deposited  materials  on  the 
Lake  Plain,  and  these  il  designates  as  the  "Lake 
Michigan    Terrace."  The  latter  are  in   part  sandy  and 


By  fa 


argesl  tract-  ,,f  terrace  sous  are  t 
covering  the  Lake  Plain  and  the  greater  pari  of 
Morris-Kankakee    Basin    (see   generalized    -oil    m 

Other  area-  occur  along  tlie  I  )e-  I'lainc-.  Fox, 
Illinois  rivers;  and  over  broad  outwasb  tracts  in  K 
M.  Henry,  and  Walworth  com, tie-,  and  in  wes 
Racine  mid  Kenosha  counties. 


In    tin-    group   are   included    "the   bottom    lands   or 

Mood  plains  along  streams,  the  swamps,  the  poorly 
drained  lowlands,  and  also  all  peats  and  mucks,  whether 
on  upland  or  terrace.  Much  of  the  soil  is  of  alluvial 
format  ion.  and  t  lie  land  i-  largely  subject  to  overflow." 
The  largest  tracts  of  soils  belonging  to  this  -roup 

occur  in  the  central  part  of  the  Morri-  Kankakee  Basin 

along  the  Kankakee  River,  particularly  in  Indiana. 
Other  extensive  .u-ca-  lie  on  the  Lake  Plain,  especially 
from  Lake  Calumet  eastward  around  the  head  of  Lake 


Ibid.,  p.  S4. 


Il.i.l.,  ,,.  : 


Michigan.    A  broad  stretch  of  botl land  lies  along 

the  Illinois  River  in  it-  course  through  the  Morris 
Basin;  and  lesser  -irip-  are  found  along  mosl  of  the 
streams.  Wherever  the  glacial  moraine-  are  hummocky 
in  character,  these  soils  are  found  in  the  depressions. 
\-  shown  in  the  generalized  soil  map.  the  largesl  areas 
occur  chiefly  in  the  elevated  uplands  north  of  the 
Illinois  River. 

These  are  "the  residue  lefl  in  place  by  the  weather- 
ing of  rock  and  the  accumulation  of  organic  matter."- 
The  residua]  soils  have  very  limited  distribution,  the 
mosl  extensive  occurrence-  being  patches  in  I  he  <  Chicago 

outlet.    Smaller    areas    are    found     along     the     Morri  — 

Kankakee  Basin  ami  along  the  Fox  River. 

GENERALIZED  soil.  MAP 


The  generalized  soil  map  (Plate  IV     i-  based  on 

stale  and  federal  -oil  map-  and  ol  her  -oiirce-.    Five  main 

-oil  groups  are  differentiated,  chiefly  on  the  basis  of 

their  physical  character  rather  than  according  to  llicir 

le  of  origin  or  agricultural  significance.  These  five 

groups  are  the  following:  (1)  fine  soils  (loams  and 
clays);  (2)  sandy  soils  (including  some  gravelly  and 
-tony  soils);  (3)dunesand;  I  t)  bottom-land  soils  chieflj 
alluvial);  (5)  peat  and  muck.  The  map  al-o  indicates 
by  means  of  symbols  the  areas  where  the  soils  re-t  on 
Led  rock  and  on  gravel  (usually  less  than  3  ft.  below  the 

surface):  where  no  symbol  appear-  the  -oil  rests  OH 
glacial  drift  or.  very  rarely,  on  lake  clays. 

The  lines  between  these  groups  arc  uol  sharply  >\<- 

fined.  In  Lake  and  Porter  counties,  Indiana,  for  ex- 
ample, the  loams  grade  into  sandy  soil  so  gradually  thai 
ao  exact  line  between  t  he  t  wo  groups  can  be  drawn.  In 
many  places,  as  on  the  Valparaiso  Upland  in  Indiana. 
the  loam  is  derived  directly  from  glacial  drifl  and  hence 
i-  -omcwhai  bowldery  or  gravelly.  The  deposits  in  the 
Kankakee  Basin,  particularly  easl  of  Kankakee  <  lountj  . 
are  sandy  soils;  bul  because  of  the  fact  thai  they  are 

poorly  drained  ami  the  area  which  they  OCCUpj    is  sub 

Jed  to  frequenl  Hood-,  they  have  - of  the  character- 
istics of  alluvial  or  peaty  -oil-,  being  frequently  silty 
and  high  in  organic  content.  The  same  i-  true  of  the 
sandy  deposits  on  the  Lake  Plain.  These  soils  have  been 
put   iii  the  sandy  -roup  inasmuch  as  their  high  sand 

content    i-    their    mosl    distinctive    feature   and    the   one 

likelj  t"  be  of  mosl  significance  in  connect  ion  with  road- 
building,   excavation,   etc.    The   line  between    the   -alidy 

soils  and  the  dune  sand  is  necessarily  arbitrary.   Nol  all 
of  the  dunes  have  Keen  mapped,  particularly  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  Indiana  portion. 
'  Ibid 


Mi 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


A  few  outstanding  features  shown  on  the  generalized 
soil  map  may  be  pointed  oul  in  connection  with  each 
soil  type. 

'  Fine  soils  constitute  the  mosl  widespread  type  oc- 
curring over  the  greater  part  of  the  Lake  Border  Up- 
land, the  Valparaiso  Upland,  the  Outer  Upland,  the 
Manteno  Plain,  and  over  large  areas  of  the  Lake  Plain 
and  Morris-Kankakee  Basin.  Their  distribution  corre- 
sponds closely  to  the  distribution  of  the  glacial  drift. 

Sandy  sails  are  found  chiefly  over  areas  where  water 
has  been  the  agent  of  deposition,  though  often  the  sand 
deposits  have  subsequently  been  affected  by  wind  ac- 
tion. They  cover  much  of  the  Lake  Plain  and  the 
Morris-Kankakee  Basin,  a  part  of  the  Valparaiso  Up- 
land in  Laporte  County.  Indiana,  where  a  peculiar  sandy 
phase  of  the  glacial  drift  occurs,  and  various  outwash 


areas  in  the  northern  part  of  the  region,  especially  in 
McHenry  and  Walworth  counties. 

Dune  sitinl  in  the  greatest  quantities  occurs  on  the 
Lake  Plain,  in  northern  Indiana,  and  on  the  Kankakee 
sand  plain.  A  few  stretches  of  dune  are  mapped  along 
the  strip  of  Lake  Plain  between  YVaukegan  and  Kenosha. 

Bottom-land  sails  form  narrow  strips  along  the 
streams,  particularly  those  subject  to  overflow,  and 
irregular-shaped  patches  occupying  lowlands.  They  are 
important  in  the  rougher  morainal  areas,  where  depres- 
sions are  numerous  and  drainage  is  poor. 

Peat  is  confined  to  poorly  drained  depressions  in  the 
glacial  moraines  and  to  swampy  lowlands  along  the 
streams  and  on  the  Lake  Plain.  Often  the  peal  deposits 
assume  the  form  of  roughly  circular  patches,  more  or 
less  completely  surrounded  by  bottom-land  soils. 


Chapter   \ll 

THE  GEOLOGICAL  RESOURCES  OF  THE  REGION 


itcro 


,i  I, 


IEMESTONE.1  The  r 
nished  limestone  for  commercial  use  in  the  re- 
.  gion  of  Chicago  are  located  (1)  in  the  Chicago 
-J  outlet  along  the  bluffs  of  the  Des  Plaines  Qlinois 
Valley;  ■  --'  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Fox  River  Valley  in  Kane 
County,  south  of  Elgin;  and  (3)  in  the  Morris-Kankakee 
Basin  west  of  the  Indiana-Illinois  state  line.  Areas  of 
lesser  importance  are  l  Thornton,  in  Cook  County; 
(3  Elmhurst,  in  Du  Page  County;  (3)  I\«--.  in  Racine 
County.  The  most  importanl  area  in  the  region  of  Chi- 
cago  i-   the   section   of   the   Chicago   outlet    between 

Surnmil   and  Juliet. 

The  quarries  of  the  region  have  furnished  rock  ma- 
terial for  road  metal,  concrete,  railroad  ballast,  flux  in 
the  iron  industries,  cement,  building  -lone,  flagstone, 
"riprap,"  and  "agricultural  limestone"  Clime  for  fer- 
tilizer 

Regarding  tlie  quarries  of  Cook  County,  the  report 
of  the  Qlinois  Geological  Survey  has  tlie  following  t<> 
say : 

every  outcrop  of  limest •  of  any  consequence  in  the  county. 

\l..-t  of  these  quarries  operate  on  a  large  scale  and  are 
equipped  to  crush  rock  to  any  size.  The  market  For  the  crushed 
stone  i-  t"  a  great  extent  local,  that  i-.  in  Chicago  and  its 

environs,  but  considerable  shipping  is  'I •  to  the  south,  to 

make  use  of  the  empty  coal  cars  returning  to  the  mines  over 
tin-  Illinois  Central  Railroad.1 

The  quarries  of  <  ook  C ity  are  located  at  Thorn- 
ton, Lemont,  Sum  nut.  McCook,  Lyons,  Chicago,  rlodg- 
kins,  l.a  Grange,  and  Bellwood.   In  most  of  these  the 

output    is  used   for  c Tele,   mail   materials,   railroad 

ballast,  and  agricultural  limestone.  In  a  few  lime  is  pro- 
duced. Chicago  is  one  of  the  three  leading  limestone- 
producing  cities  of  Illinois,  the  other  two  being  Quincy 
ami  Alton  The  quarries  of  Cook  County  having  the 
largest   production  of  crushed  limestone  are  those  al 

Mellu I.    Hodgkins,   Thornton,   and    McCook,    with 

daily  outputs  ranging  IV 2,400  to   1,000  tons    The 

total  annual  output  ranges  from  ■">. ,000  to  6,000, 


The  rock 


ite.l  in  digging  the  ( Ihicago 


1  The  reader  is  referred  to  tin-  Following  excellent  diaciu 
i  i     ■,,„.,.  1983      Pp    194 

/     !.,p    IIU 


age  Canal  was  piled  up  in  the  form  of  "spoil  hanks" 

along  the  side,  forming  a  long  ridge  varying  fr Hi  to 

."iti  feel  high.  This  ridge  offers  a  large  supply  of  readily 
obtained  rock  some  of  which  is  used  for  filling  cribs  and 
breakwaters  along  Chicago's  lake  front.1 

Joliet  was e  the  center  of  a  very  important  stone 

industry  and  formerly  furnished  much  building  stone, 
as  is  witnessed  by  the  numerous  imposing  structures  in 
Joliet  and  neighboring  cities  built  of  Niagara  limestone, 


.«#&.;v....s 

Spoil  Banks  mom.  mi  <  bii  igo  Drainage  Canal 

Inii  iii  re.eiit  years  the  output  has  greatly  diminished 
At  present  neither  building  stone  nor  flagstone  i-  being 
produced  in  the  .loliet  region.  The  present  output  of 
rock  is  used  for  concrete,  agricultural  limestone,  road 
material,  and  ballast,  and  is  routined  to  two  quarries 
and  the  State  Penitentiary.  Regarding  the  future  of  the 
rock  output  in  the  Joliet  region,  Professor  l>  •'    Fisher 


I     lot. 


the  amount  of  li I  dimension  si avail 

able  is  limited,  and  with  the  present  tendency  towards  the  use 
ol  brick  and  artificial  -lone,  it  seems  fairly  certain  that  the 
dimension  stone  industry  of  this  ;,rv;.  is  not  a  growing  in.lus- 
try.  On  the  other  hand  the  great  abundance  ol  dol itesuit- 


I 


II  / 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


able  for  mad  metal,  concrete  aggregate,  or  for  agricultural 
purposes,  combined  with  its  ready  accessibility  and  the  good 
transportation  conditions,  points  to  an  increase  for  these  pur- 

P s.1 

The  quarry  at  Elmhurst,  in  I)u  Page  County,  has  a 

daily  output  of  1,000  tons,  which  is  utilized  for  agricul- 
tural limestone,  road  material,  concrete,  and  ballast. 

The  Illinois  State  Geological  Survey  reports  as  fol- 
lows concerning  Kankakee  County: 

The  overlying  glacial  drift  is  thinner  on  the  average  than 
in  adjoining  counties  and  nick  is  available  at  many  places  with 
only  a  thin  cover  of  overburden.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  19th 
century  large  quantities  of  rock  wen-  quarried  in  the  county 
for  use  as  building  stone,  but  the  use  of  concrete  for  construc- 
tion purposes  and  the  popularity  of  the  Bedford  stone  are 
responsible  for  the  abandonment  of  the  building-stone  indus- 
try in  this  county.  Most  of  the  abandoned  quarries  arc  found 
in  the  vicinity  of  Momence  and  Kankakee. - 

The  only  quarries  of  any  importance  in  the  Wiscon- 
sin part  of  the  region  of  Chicago  are  located  (1)  at 
Whitewater  in  Walworth  County.  (2)  northwest  of  Ra- 
cine, (3)  west  of  Burlington,  and  (4)  at  Ives  in  Racine 
County.  The  quarries  of  the  last-mentioned  town  are 
by  far  the  most  important.  A  report  issued  by  the 
Wisconsin  Geological  Survey  (1914)  states  that  here  the 
supply  of  limestone  is,  "for  practical  purposes,  un- 
limited." The  quarry  is  equipped  with  a  crusher  with  a 
capacity  of  about  "2,(100  cubic  yards  per  day,  in  1912, 
making  it  one  of  the  leading  crushed-stone  producers  in 
the  state.3  The  stone  quarried  at  Whitewater  is  from 
the  Galena-Trenton  formation:  though  soft  and  earthy 
it  is  suitable  for  road  material. 

Sand  and  gravel  are  abundant  in  the  region  of  Chi- 
cago and  in  recent  years  have  become  of  great  economic 
importance  in  connection  with  building  activities  in 
Chicago  and  other  cities  and  in  connection  with  the 
building  of  the  state  and  county  systems  of  hard  roads. 
In  Waukegan  fine  gravels  have  been  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  roofing  material. 

The  greatest  source  of  sand  is  the  dune  area  of 
northern  Indiana,  from  which  whole  trainloads  are  daily 
hauled  away.  Sand  for  local  use  is  obtained  from  many 
other  points  on  the  Lake  Plain,  where  the  sand  is  fre- 
quently very  pure;  and  from  the  few  localities  on  the 
Kankakee  sand  plain  where  the  sand  is  of  good  quality. 
Sand  is  also  obtained  in  a  number  of  places,  as  at  Plain- 
field,  through  the  screening  of  gravel,  which  may  be  as 
high  as  75  per  cent  sand. 

The  sources  of  gravel  are  chiefly  two:  (  1  )  the  beach 
ridges  of  the  Lake  Plain,  and  (2)  the  out  wash  areas  a  long 
the  Illinois  River  and  in  the  region  to  the  north  of  that 
river.   The  beach  ridges  have  been  drawn  on   lo  a  con- 


Ibid.,  Hull.  f,l.  p. 
Ibid.,  Bull.  58,  v 


Ibid.,  Bull.  16,  p.  128. 
!•'.  W.  I  Irak  The  Peal  Re 


siderable  extent  chiefly  for  local  Use.  From  the  out  wash 
areas  the  output  of  gravel  has  long  been  maintained  on 
an  important  commercial  scale:  and  vast  reserves  are 

available  for  the  future.  Most  of  the  workings  up  lo  the 
present  time  have  been  along  the  streams  and  rivers, 
where  water  for  washing  the  gravel  is  easily  obtained. 
The  <:  avel  deposits  occur  chiefly  along  the  Illinois.  Des 
Plaines,  I)u  Page,  and  Fox  rivers,  and  in  out  wash  areas 
scattered  through  Kane.  McIIenry.  Walworth,  Ken- 
osha, and  Racine  counties,  often  removed  from  any 
present-day  streams.  The  glacial  map  and  the  general- 
ized soil  map  show  most  of  the  larger  gravel  areas:  but 
there  are  innumerable  small  gravel  pockets  that  are  of 
considerable  local  importance.  Such  deposits  occur  in 
depressions  on  the  moraine  throughout  the  region,  but 
are  most  abundant  in  the  counties  mentioned  above. 
.Toliet  ami  Plainfield  are  important  shipping  centers  for 
gravel. 

Clay. — By  far  the  most  of  the  clay  products  used  in 
the  region  of  Chicago  are  of  local  manufacture.  The 
material  used  is  chiefly  the  common  glacial  drift  or 
"bowlder  clay,"  which  is  obtained  from  selected  areas 
where  the  content  of  pebbles  and  bowlders  is  low.  With 
such  a  vast  market  for  the  finished  products  and  such  an 
inexhaustible  supply  of  raw  material,  the  region  of  Chi- 
cago has  become  a  great  center  for  the  manufacture  of 
clay  products.  Cook  County  ranks  as  the  foremost 
brick-producing  county  in  the  United  States,  furnishing 
annually  over  half  of  the  total  output  of  the  state  of 
Illinois,  which  for  many  years  has  stood  third  among  the 
states  of  the  country  in  point  of  clay  products,  being 
exceeded  only  by  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  In  northern 
Indiana  there  are  available  excellent  lake  clays  in  addi- 
tion to  the  bowlder  clay:  both  kinds  have  long  been 
utilized  at  Hobart.  Porter,  Chesterton,  and  other  cities. 
Morris  has  for  many  years  produced  brick  and  tile  made 
from  lake  clays  occurring  in  the  Morris  Basin.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  clays,  certain  shales  occur  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vanian  formations  near  Morris  that  are  suitable  for  brick 
manufacture.  In  eastern  Racine  and  Kenosha  coun- 
ties there  are  lake  clays  that  at  one  time  formed  the 
basis  for  a  very  important  brick,  tile,  and  pottery  in- 
dustry, though  today  the  output  is  relatively  small.' 

Peat  occurs  in  large  quantities  in  various  parts  of  the 
region,  as  is  shown  on  the  generalized  soil  map  (Plate 
IV),  but  principally  in  McIIenry  and  Pake  counties, 
Illinois,  and  in  the  three  Wisconsin  counties.  The  Wis- 
consin Geological  Survey  has  made  an  exhaustive  study 
of  the  peal  resources  of  the  state'  and  has  reached  the 
conclusion  that  little  use  will  be  found  for  peat  until 
other  fuel  materials  become  scarce  and  expensive.  The 
chief  obstacle  to  the  use  of  peat  for  fuel  or  gas  is  the  high 
1  Wisconsin  Geological  ami  Natural  History  Survey,  Hull.  ..'J.  p.  7£. 
i  of  Wisconsin,  ibid.,  Hull.  ',:,  (Madison,  L915).  Pp.  -27+. 


THE  GEOLOGICAL  RESOURCES  <>!■'  THE  KIK.IOX 


can  be  recovered,  and  a  large  pail  of  this  i-  ash.  The 
dried  product  is  from  eight  to  sixteen  times  as  bulky  as 
coal  and  has  about  one-half  its  beating  value.  The-  peat 
areas,  at  present  largely  unused  marshes,  are  therefore 
more  likely  to  l><-  drained  and  reclaimed  for  agricultural 
purposes  than  used  for  their  potential  fuel  value. 

Coal.  The  Wilmington  coal  field  extends  into  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  region  of  Chicago.  While  this 
Held  was  formerly  a  principal  source  of  bituminous  coal 
for  Chicago,  the  larger  pari  of  the  production  is  mm 
shipped  to  points  north  and  west.  This  is  due  to  the 
high  cost  of  operation  in  this  field,  as  a  result  of  which 
it  is  cheaper  to  ship  coal  into  Chicago  from  Williamson 

County,  30 iles  distant,  than  it  is  to  -hip  it  in  from 

Grundy  County,  only  ■'>■'>  miles  distant.1 

This  coal  occurs  in  what  is  known  as  •'scam  No.  2," 
which  is  here  a  wry  widespread  bed  of  uniform  thick- 
ni'ss  and  character  and  lias  been  mined  in  scores  of 
openings.  It  varies  in  thickness  from  20  to  72  indies. 
Init  shows  much  greater  uniformity  than  these  figures 
indicate,  a  variat  ion  of  less  than  .">  inches  throughout  an 
entire  mine  being  common.  It  is  overlaid  by  a  gray 
shaly  sandstone  10  feet  thick,  and  is  underlaid  by  fire 
clay.  Other  coal  seams,  much  thinner  and  I. ut  little 
w orked,  occur  in  t he  field. 

Bowlders  of  glacial  origin  are  frequent  ly  made  use  of 
for  ornamental  purposes:  fireplaces,  porches,  stone 
walls,  pedestals,  and  occasionally  even  for  whole  build- 
ings. Because  of  the  variety  of  colors  and  patterns  avail- 
able in  these  bowlders,  most  of  which  arc  granites,  very 
artistic  and  pleasing  effects  arc  produced. 

WATER   HI  SOI  RC]  -: 

Springs  having  a  permanent  How  are  few.  but  there 
are  numerous  intermittent  springs.  l?oth  types  are  usu- 
ally small  and  of  local   importance  only.    In   Walworth 

County,  Wisconsin,  springs  are  abundant  a  Ion-  tin t 

crop  of  the  li i<  I ml  shale,  there  being  many  springs 

in  the  \  iciinty  of  Whitewater.  The  city  water  supply  of 
Delavan  is  obtained  from  springs,  and  a  well-known 
mineral  spring,  the  Sheridan  Mineral  Sprint:,  is  located 
near  Lake  Geneva.4 

Drift  wells  constitute  the  most  <• mon  type  of  well 

and  serve  most  of  tin-  farms  and  small  towns.  The  depth 
to  which  such  wells  must  be  dug  in  order  to  obtain  a 
constant  water  supply  varies  with  the  thickness  and 
character  of   the   material   penetrated.   Usually   these 

wells  are  continued  until  they  reach  a   stratum  of  sand 

or  gravel;  this  will  usually  provide  sufficient  Bow.  Often 
i  Ittinoit  Geological  Survey,  Bull.  !■■.  p    iO  I  •'  Ibid..  Bu 

Mui  h  ol  tli«-  < lii t :i  f..r  tins.  s. ,  lion  is  taken  fr,.m  the  following  n 

eastern  Ulinoit,  ibid.,  Hull.  .;;  (Urbana,  1918  .  Pp.  Si8. 

'  Wisconsin  Geological  and  Natural  History  Surrey,  Bull.   ■"..  p.  590. 


it  is  found  necessary  to  penetrate  to  the  surface  of  the 
underlying  limestone,  or  even  into  it.  in  which  case  the 
porous  rock  will  usually  afford  an  adequate  supply  of 
water.   In  general,  wells  of  this  shallow   type  are  most 

successful  on  or  adjacent  to  terminal  moraines,  ami  in 
areas   where   sand   ami    gravel    arc   abundant.    They   arc 

commonhj  from  8  to  5  feet  in  dii iter  though  some  of 

the   small    towns   have   wells   that    arc   up   I .  •   -.'II   feet    m 


Si.  PeJer- 
Sarsdslo 


Fig.  16.  Outcrops  of  Potsdam  and  St.  Peter  sandstones  in  Wis- 
consin. These  are  the  collecting  areas  for  the  artesian  waters  of  the 
region  of  Chicago.  (Reproduced  by  courtesj  of  the  III  Geological 
Survey. 

diameter.  The  majority  do  not  exceed  20  30  feel  in 
depth,  but  wells  inn  feet  or  more  deep  are  not  uncom- 
mon, especially  in  villages  and  on  stock  farms  where  a 
constant  water  supply  is  imperal  ive.  In  t  he  areas  of  deep 

drift,  as   m    Mcllcnry   and   Lake  counties,   wells  are  dug 

200  feet  in  the  drift. 

Shallow  wells  have  two  serious  disadvanl 
they  are  subject  to  contamination  and  have  frequently 
been  found  to  be  the  cans.'  of  typhoid  fever  and  other 
serious  epidemics;  and  (2  they  arc  not  absolutely  re- 
liable, sometimes  going  drj  or  nearly  so  during  periods 
of  drought.   For  that   reason  deep  wells  of  small  bore 

thai    are  drilled    into   water  bearing   strata   arc   much   to 

be  preferred. 
K.  ;  ..  pp.  iss  89. 
.,  Il,„t  treatise     Carl  It.  Anderson,   1        I  fl  Uu  Sorth- 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


Drilled  wells  less  than  500  feel  in  depth  obtain  their 
water  chiefly  from  the  uppermost  rock  strata,  in  most 
eases  the  Niagara  limestone.  They  range  from  "200  to 
.".no  feet  in  depth,  average  850  feet,  are  usually  drilled 
when  only  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  water  is 
required,  and  like  the  drift  wells  furnish  water  that  is 
relatively  soft,  that  is,  free  from  lime.  Because  the  lime- 
stone in  this  region  is  usually  more  or  less  fissured  and 
sometimes  porous,  wells  of  this  type  ordinarily  afford  a 
dependable  supply  of  water. 

Wells  deeper  than  ,500  feet  obtain  their  water  chiefly 
from  the  St.  Peter  and  the  Potsdam  sandstones.  These 
formations  are  at  the  surface  in  Wisconsin,  as  indicated 
in  Figure  16,  and  from  that  region  they  dip  gently  east- 
ward and  southward  so  that  in  the  region  of  Chicago 
thev   lie  hundreds   of  feet    beneath    the   surface.     Rain 


150  feet  of  the  surface.  Thus  the  artesian  water  level 
here  has  dropped  230  feet.  This  is  the  result  of  the  drill- 
ing of  hundreds  of  deep  wells  which  have  partially 
exhausted  the  resources  of  the  water-bearing  strata.  In 
outlying  parts  of  the  region  of  Chicago  where  fewer  deep 
wells  have  been  drilled,  the  level  has  dropped  to  a  less 
extent  or  not  at  all. 

The  depth  to  which  artesian  wells  must  be  drilled 
varies  with  localities.  In  general,  the  necessary  depth 
increases  to  the  east  on  account  of  the  eastward  dip  of 
the  strata.  ('.  B.  Anderson,  of  the  Illinois  Geological 
Survey,  reports  that  in  northeastern  Illinois  wells  range 
in  depth  from  .">()()  to  "2, 700  feet.  The  average  depth 
amounts  to  between  1.000  and  1.800  feet  for  this  portion 
of  the  state,  being  influenced  by  the  large  number  of 
wells  in   Chicago  and   vicinity  which  are  about    1,600 


Collschnq  Ore 


Fig.  17. — Artesian  conditions.  The  upper  water-bearing  stratum  corresponds  to  the  St.  Peter  sandstone;  the  lower, 
ii'  deep  wells  obtain  water  from  both,  the  greatest  quantity  comes  from  the  Potsdam. 


to  the  Potsdam.  While 


which  falls  in  Wisconsin  on  the  outcrops  of  these  porous 
formations  is  in  part  absorbed  and.  moving  very  slowly, 
descends  through  them  toward  the  east  and  southeast 
to  gradually  increasing  depths  (sec  Fig.  17).  Subjected 
to  the  weight  of  the  stream  of  water  behind  and  con- 
fined between  strata  thai  are  relatively  impervious,  the 
water  comes  under  greater  and  greater  hydrostatic  pres- 
sure or  "head"  as  it  is  commonly  called.  When  a 
stratum  thus  saturated  with  water  under  high  pressure 
is  tapped  by  a  deep  well,  artesian  conditions  result;  the 
water  rises  in  the  well  to  a  height  determined  by  the 
amount  of  head.  Though  this  head  may  not  be  strong 
enough  to  make  the  well  How.  it  al  least  will  be  sufficient 
lo  make  pumping  easy. 

The  amount  of  head  has  not  remained  constant  in 
all  parts  of  the  region,  but  is  in  some  places  gradually 
decreasing.  In  1H01  a  well  was  drilled  in  Chicago  to  a 
depth  of  711  feel,  a  relatively  shallow  depth,  and 
enough  head  was  encountered  lo  make  the  water  rise 
lo  a  height  SO  feet  above  the  surface.  This  particular 
well  is  now  abandoned,  but  the  oilier  wells  in  its 
vicinity  today  penetrate  to  much  greater  depths,  yet 
have  such  low  head  that   the  water  rises  only  to  within 


feet  in  depth.  In  the  Stockyards  at  Chicago  a  number 
of  wells  have  been  drilled  to  depths  greater  than  2,200 
feet  and  possibly  over  "2,500  feet;  the  deepest  well,  how- 
ever, is  at  Aurora  and  has  a  depth  of  "2.7.")!)  feet.  As  the 
water  level  lowers,  it  becomes  increasingly  necessary  to 
drill  wells  to  the  lowest  strata.  In  Chicago,  in  recent 
years,  the  St.  Peter  sandstone  has  proved  inadequate 
to  furnish  a  sufficiently  large  flow  of  water,  and  wells 
have  been  continued  to  the  Potsdam  sandstone.  The 
St.  Peter  is  encountered  at  an  average  depth  of  SOI  feet 
at  Chicago:  the  Potsdam,  at   1,400  feet. 

The  water  in  the  St.  Peter  and  Potsdam  formations 
is  under  pressure  and  hence  is  better  able  lo  dissolve 
mineral  substances  than  is  the  water  occurring  in  the 
Niagara  limestone  and  the  drift.  Consequently  the 
water  from  the  artesian  wells  is  usually  highly  mineral- 
ized and  hard.  When  the  lowest  part  of  the  Potsdam 
is  tapped,  the  water  obtained  is  frequently  loo  sally 
for  use.  Wells  in  the  Morris  Basin  that  penetrate  the 
Pennsylvania  strata  (Coal  Measures)  are  sulphurous; 
this  is  also  sometimes  the  case  with  water  from  the 
St.  Peter.  Such  waters  may  have  an  offensive  taste  but 
are  desirable  for  their  medicinal  properties. 


skli;ch:i)  i;ip,u<m,i;  \nn 


BELOW  are  listed  publications  thai  are  of  outstanding  importance  in  connection  with  the  region  of  Chi- 
cago and  thai  arc  readily  accessible  in  private  and  public  libraries.  Mosl  of  these  are  governmental  <>r 
state  publications  and.  so  far  as  they  are  -till  in  print,  may  be  secured  from  the  sources  indicated  for  a 
nominal  fee  covering  the  cosl  of  printing.  A  few  are  available  for  free  distribution.  The  majority  of  the 
publications  listed  are  written  in  a  style  as  free  from  technicalities  as  possible,  and  so  arc  of  sen  ice  to  all  classes 
nf  readers.  Through  reference  to  these  works  the  reader  may  in  many  cases  obtain  detailed  information  concern 
ing  particular  localities  or  topics  which  especially  interest  him. 

ILLINOIS  Cady,  (i.  II.   Coal  Resources  of  District  I  {Longwatt),  Illinois 
G]  N|  BM  Mining  Investigations,  ibid.,  Bull.  /".  Urbana,  1915.  Pp. 

1  19. 

Leverett,  Frank.  Pleistocene  Features  and  Deposits  of  Hie  Chi-  Anderson,    Car]    15.    The    Artesian    Waters   of   Northeastern 

cago  Area,  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences,  Butt.  .'.  Chicago,  Illinois,  ibid.,  Bull.  Si.  Urbana,  1919.   Pp.326. 

Iv':    |,,,sli-  Krey,  1'..  and  Lamar,  J.  E.  Limesl R  f  Illinois. 

.   'I  In  Illinois  Glacial  Lobe,  United  States  Geological  Sur-  ;/,;,/    /:il/j    ,t-    (,.|, .,,,.,    mas    pD   30a 

vey,  Mmn.,,.  AS.   Washington,  lsii!t.   Pp.  817. 
Alden,  William  C.  Chicago  Folio,  ibid.,  Folio  81.  Washington,  soil  poblk  itions 

1902.  Pp.  If.  SoilReport  and  Map  (issued  for  Illinois  bj  the  Bureau  of  Soils, 

At» I,  Wallace  W„  and  Goldthwait,  Ji sWalter.  Physical  U.S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  Washington):  Witt  < 

Geography   of  thi    Evanston-Waukegan    Region,    Illinois  Soil  reports  and  maps  (issued  by  the  Soil  Survey,  I  aiversitj 

Geological  Survey,  Bull.  7.  Urbana,  1908.  Pp.  102.  oflllinois  Agricultural  Experimenl  Station,  Urbana,  til.): 

Goldthwait,   James    Walter.    Physical   Features  of  the   Des  Report 

Plaines  Valley,  ibid..  Bull.  II.  Urbana,  1909.   Pp.  103.  '■'■  LakeCounty  1815 

Trowbridge,  Arthur  C.  Geology  and  Geography  of  the  Wheaton  ls-  Kankakee  Countj  1916 

Quadrangle,  ibid.,  Bull.  19.  Urbana,  1912.   Pp.  79.  Hi-  ""  Page  County  1917 

SauJT,  Carl  ().  Geography  of  th   Upper  Illinois  Valley,  ibid.,  IT    KaneCount>  l!"' 

a   11    ,■     rik  .„.,■     i»      •no  -''     McHenrj  Countj  1921 

Hull.  .',.  1  rbana,  !!•]<..  Pp.208.  .    ,  , 

e_r  1  01,  1     til  ivir  /■      (•/      ,  ;         t  -2...    I.ivmi^>I  on  <  ..initx  III-.': 

Salisbury,  II.  !>..  and  Alden,  William  (  .   Thi   Geography  of  .,,,  Grundy  County  ,„., 

(  hicago  and  Its  Environs  (rev.  ed.),  Geographic  Society  oj  Will  County  (ma| K  to  date 

Chicago,  Bull.  I.  Chicago,  1920.  Pp.  <;:s. 

,,   ,  |        ..    ..     .,.,     .  ,       .  ,,,  ....  .,, ,.  Uso  see  Summary  of  Illinois  Soil  Investigations,  University  of 

..  .        ..      ....    .     ,  ...         .,,  '      ,,  Illinois    Agricultural    Experiment    Station,    Bull.    193. 

Lulver,  Harold  h.  Geology  and  Mineral  Resources  of  the  Morns  .-,      ,    .,..  . 

Quadrangle,  Illinois  Geological  Survey,  Bull.  ','■.     I  rbana,  [NDIANA 

192  I     pp   95    804. 
Fisher,    D.  J.  Geology  and  Mineral  Resources  of  the  Joliet 

Quadrangle,  ibid..  Bull.  51.  Urbana,  1925.   Pp.  160.  Blatchley,  W.  S.  "The  Geology  of  Lake  and  Po>       - 

( le.  J.Paul.    Thi  ' rraphic  Background  of  Chicago.  Chi-  /"'"' ""''     ,""""/   /;,/""'/   (DeDt   "'   Geo,0»    ■""' 

,,  ,q    |.     -Il()  Natural  Resources,  Ind.),  pp.  25   105.  Indianapolis,  189* 


Leverett,  Frank.  "The  Water  Resources  of  Illinois, "  Seven 

/unlit  Annual  Report  (U.S.  Geological  Survej  I,  pp.  ",i<\ 

842    Washington,  ls:»i. 
Alden,  William  C.   Thi  Stone  Industry  in  tin  Vicinity  of  Chi- 
lllinois.  United  Stales  Geological  Sunn/.  Bull.  .'/■•'. 

pp.  .;.-.:  60.  Washington,  1902. 
Burchard,  E.  F,  ConcreU   Materials  Produced  in  tin  Chicago 

District,  Illinois  Geological  Survey,  Bull.  8,  \>\>.  346  72. 

I  rbana,  1907, 
Bement,  A.   Tht  Illinois  Coal  Field,  ibid..  Bull.  16,  pp.  182 

208.  I  rbana,  1810. 

See  foregoing  refer*  ocea  also. 


Blatchle)  .U.S.  'The  <  Ilaj  s  and  •  Ilaj  Indusl  riesof  I  udiana." 
Twenty-ninth    Annual   Report     Depl     ol    Geology    and 

Natural  Re rces,  Ind.),  pp.  13  657.   Indianap 

"The  Road  Materials  of  Indiana."  Thirtieth  Annual 
Report  (Dept.  of  Geolog}  and  Natural  Resources,  Ind.  . 
pp.  161   275.   Indianapolis,  IS 

Taylor.  A.  E.  "On  the  Peal  Deposits  ol  Northern  Indiana," 
Thirty-first  Annual  Report  Dept.  of  Geology  and  Natural 
Res C(  -    Ind      pp   73    208    Indianapolis,  1900. 

Leverett,  Frank,  and  Taylor,  1    B  f  Indiana 

iiml  ilu  History  of  tht  Great  I  ' 

Survey,  Monog.  58.  Washington    1915    Pp 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


Logan,  Cumings,  Malott,  Visher,  Tucker,  and  Reeves.  Hand- 
book of  Indiana  Geology,  Division  of  Geology,  Indiana 
Department  of  Conservation,  Pub.  21.  Indianapolis,  1922. 
Pp.  1120. 

SOIIi  l'l  m.ic  WIONS 

Quin,E.J.  "SoilSurvej  of  La  Porte,  St.  Joseph  and  Bartholo- 
mew Counties,"  Thirty-sixth  Annual  Report  (Dept.  of  Ge- 
ology and  Natural  Resources,  Ind.),  pp.  281-334.  Indian- 
apolis.  1911. 
County  soil  reports  and  maps  (issued  for  Indiana  by  the 
Bureau  of  Soils.  I'.S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  Washington): 

Newton  County 1906 

Starke  County        1917 

Porter  County 1918 

Lake  County 19-21 

WISCONSIN 


Chamberlin,  T.  C.  "Geology  of  Eastern  Wisconsin,"  Geology 
of  Wisconsin,  XI.  93-405.  Madison:  Wisconsin  Geolog- 
ical Survey.  1877. 

Fenneman,  N.  M.  Lakes  of  Southeastern  Wisconsin.  Wisconsin 
Geological  and  Natural  History  Survey,  Bull.  8.  Madison. 
1902.  Pp.  178. 

Alden.  William  C.  The  Delavan  Lobe  of  the  Lake  Michigan 
Glacier,  United  States  Geological  Survey,  Prof.  Pap.  34. 
Washington,  1904.  Pp.  106. 

Ries,  Heinrich.  The  Clays  of  Wisconsin  and  Their  Uses,  Wis- 
consin Geological  and  Xatural  History  Survey,  Bull.  15. 
Madison,  1906.  Pp.  247. 

Case,  E.  C.  Wisconsin,  Its  Geology  and  Physical  Geography. 
Milwaukee,  1007.    Pp.  190. 


Goldthwait,  .lames  Walter.  The  Abandoned  Shore-Lines  of 
Pastern     Wisconsin.    Wisconsin    Geological    and    Xatural 

History  Survey,  Bull.  17.  Madison.  1007.  Pp.  134. 
Martin,    Lawrence.   The   Physical  Geography  of  Wisconsin, 

ibid..  Bull.  36.   Madison.  1007.  Pp.  134. 
Alden.    William    C.    The   Quaternary    Geology   of  Southeastern 

Wisconsin.  United  States  Geological  Survey,  Prof.  Pa/i.  106, 

Washington.  1018.   Pp.  356. 

Whitbeck,  R.  II.   The  Geography  and  Economic  Development  of 

Southeaster//  Wisconsin,  Wisconsin  Geological  and  Xatural 

History  Surrey.  Hull.  58.   Madison.  1921.    Pp.  tot. 

ECONOMIC 

Hotchkiss,  W.  (>..  and  Steidtmann.  E.  Limestone  Road  Ma- 
terials of  Wisconsin.  Wisconsin  Geological  and  Xatural 
History  Surrey.  Hull.  ■!',.   Madison.  1914.   Pp.  I.'i7. 

Huels,  F.  W.  The  Peat  Resources  of  Wisconsin,  ibid.,  Hull.  45, 
Madison,  101.5.   Pp.  -»74. 

Weidman.  S..  and  Schultz,  A.  R.  The  Underground  and  Sur- 
face Water  Supplies  of  Wisconsin,  ibid.,  Hull.  35.  Madi- 
son,  101.3.    Pp.  Mil. 

SOIL  PUBLICATIONS 

County  soil  reports  and  maps  (issued  for  Wisconsin  by  the 
Bureau  of  Soils,  U.S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture.  Washington  I : 

Kenosha  and  Racine  counties 1922 

Walworth  County 1924 

County  soil  reports  and  maps  (issued  by  the  Wisconsin 
Geological  and  Natural  History  Survey.  Madison): 

Hull.  56B,  "Soil  Series  No.  29" Racine  and  Kenosha  counties 

Bull.  56C,  "Soil  Series  No.  80" Walworth  County 


INDEX 


Acknowledgments,  v 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  University 

of  Illinois,  v,  48 
Alden,  William  C.  v,  13,  39 
Alexandrian  series,  37 
Uton,  17 

American  Society  for  Testing  Materials,  37 
Anderson,  Carl  B.,  4'J.  50 
Animal  life  of  dune  region,  35  36 
Arlington  Heights,  ll 
Armington,  1.  II  .  9 
Art, •,.an  wells,  19  50 

Atchison,  Topeka,  \  Santa  IV  Railroad,  21 
Athy.  L.  r..  7 
Aurora.   It 

Aurora  Plain,  28,  29,  11 
An\  Sable  Creek,  19,  m 

Bailey,  E.  S-,  34 

Barrett,  Edward,  34 

Barrington,  W 

Batavia,  28 

Beach  ridgea  and  bars,  18,  IS,  l> 

Bed  rock,  I,  37   11,  n    is.  50 

Beecher.  I] 

Bell* I,  17 

Bensenville,  II 

Benton  Harbor,  SO 

Beverlj  Hills,  n 

Bibliography:  general,  ■">"  51;  •  >,,  dunes,  34; 

on  vegetation,  7 
Mini  life  of  dune  region,  35  .!(> 
Bloomingdale,  ti 
Bloomington  moraine,  28 
Blue  Island,  II 
Blue  Island  Ridge,  II 
Bowlder  clay,  12,  18 
Bowlders,  use  of,  19 
Brandon's  Bridge,  \'-> 
lint/.  J  II..  v 
Bridgeport,  10 
Bureau  of  Soils,  I  ,S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  v. 


Burlington,  W,  H,  is 
Bums's  ditch,  ll    15,  83 
Bumside,  3  I 

Calumet  River,  I:!   I"..  It;.  19 

<  lalumel  >t. ,>.■,■.  Lake  '  In.    _ 
Canals,  i  I   i  5    80  81 
Carbondale  form.,' 

<  edai  I  a 
Cement,  17 
Central  Lowland,  I 
Chamberlin,  T.  C,  v,  82 

(   li.inn.ili..,,.    19 

<  hesterton,  16,  18 

Ui.iM  Railroad,  .'l 
i  hicago    artesian  wells  in,  50;  bed  r.nk  nn- 
der.  Hi;  climate  of,  !»  10;  drainage  in,  1 1 
15;  limestone  produce  of,   17:  quarries  in, 


Chicago,  Commonwealth  Club,  v 

Chicago  Drainage  Canal,  IS,  15,  is  21,31,  17 

<  'hicago  harbor,  !•,  13 
Chicago  Heights,  24,  II 

Chicago  outlet,  7.  12,  is  21,  22,  25,  26,  IS, 
14,  15,  17;  depth  of  bed  rock  in,  10 

Chicago  Plain,  11,  12,  39,  IS 

Chicago  region,  definition  of,  \ 

(  'hicago  Kcyiiuuil  Planum..'  Vssoi-ialion.  work 
Of,  v 

Chicago  River,  12,  IS,  15,  16,  is.  19,  -i« 

Clay,  12,  13,  is 

Climate,  9  10 

Coal.  37,  S9,  19 

( 'oal  Basin,  Eastern  Interior.  :S7 

Coal  Measures,  :t7.  38,  39,  50 

<  lobble  beaches,  32 

<  oburg,  11 

Committee  on  General  Survey.  Chicago 
Regional  Planning  Association,  \ 

Concrete,  17   is 

Continental  Divide,  I.  15,  21,  22  it.  '.'."> 

Cook  County,  v,  22,  11,  17.  18;  foresl  pre- 
serves of,  17.  23,  .'l 

Cooley,  L.  E.,  1!> 

Comiferous  formation,  39 

Cowles,  II.  C,  v,  7.  9,  34,  35 

(  ox,  II.  C,  9 

Crown  Point,  23,  11 

Dairying,  17.  -U 

Day,  P.  i      30 

Delavan,  19 

Delavan  lobe  of  glacier,  5,  7.  22,  23 

Deposition  along  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  7. 

II.  12, 
Depth  of  bed-rock  surface,  39   11 
Des  Plaines,  16 

Des  Plaines  River,  7.  13,  16,  is   19,  83    15,  is 
Des  Plaines  Valley,  rock  outcrops  along,  W, 

17 
Devonian  Btrata,  8,  5    17     18,  39 
Diversion  of  water  al  <  'hicago,  81 
I >ow ners  ( irove,  24,  n 
Downing,  Elliol  R.,  35 
Dune  Park,  16,  36 
Dunes  of  Kankakee  Basin,  26    I  i 
Dunes  ,,f  Northern  Indiana,  7,  9,  II     :i    16, 

is 

D ■  sail, I.   14,   15,   16,   is 

DuP       I    ui  tj    -.    84,  41,  15,  17.  is 

I  r,  is,  19,  85,  is 
Drainage  and  Water  Suppl)  Commission  of 

'  go,  19 

Dresden  Heights,  19,  88 
Dnftles,  area,  shown  on  diagrams,  i'\  7 

Bdgewood  formation,  37 
Bkblaw,  i.l 
Elburn,  28 


Elgin,  •-'■-'.  25,  28,  i!).  41,  47 

Klinliurst.   II.   17.   is 

Engineering  Board  of  Review  of  the  Sanitan 

District  of  Chicago,  31 
Erie  lol f  glacier,  <; 

Erosion  along  shore  of  Lake  Michigan   7    16 

:il  S3,  :si 
Evanston,  i  1 

Fairchild,  Herman  I...  30 

I'ellli,  inan.   \.    M.,    1.  i 

Fertilizer,  17 

Fisher,  I).  J.,  v.  39,  17 

Flagstone,  17 

Fluctuations  in  level  of  Lake  Michigan  :;u 

Flux,  17 

Forest  preserves:    of  Cook  County,  17,23,24; 

of  Dil    Page  County.  -.'I;  of   Kane   County. 

il 
Fort  Shi  M. I. m    i;    13 
Fort  Wayne,  2] 
Fox  Lake,  83 

Fox  River,  19,  23,  28  29,  II,  15,  is 
Fox  River  Valley,  rock  outcrops  along,  17 
Franklin  Park,  il 
Puller.  George  I)..  \ .  7 

Galena  formation.  37,  is 

Galen  Creek.  23 

Gary,  11.  15,  33,  34 

Geographic  Society  of  Chicago,  12 

Geologic  form. iti, ins 

Geologic  History,  I   7 

1  ieological  resoun  es,  17  50 

Georgian  Baj .  ii 

(ilaeial  drift,   12,   Is 

( llaciation,  2  9 

Glencoe,  17,  32 

Glen   Haven,  .limes  near.  :!l 

Glenview,  84 

Glenw I  stage,  Lake  <  !hii  ago,  l .' 

Goldwait,  .1.  W.,  v.  is.  |9 

G le.  .1    Paul,  v 

Grand  Haven,  30 

(.rani   Park.   12 

Gravel,  is.  12,  ts 
Grays  Lake.  23 


(.re.it    Lakes   rei; (,'eoloeie  featllr. 

Greal  Likes   III,, Waterway,  21 

(  ireeli    Baj  .   li 

(irun.l.v  County, 

Ham, id,  15,  S3,  10 

M 

II  e,  40 

Hebron,  II 

II  -  !,.  I.", 


54 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REGION  OF  CHICAGO 


Hennepin,  19 

Heuls,  F.  W„  is 

Highland  Park.  IS,  16,  IT.  40 

Highw I.  11 

Hobart,  hi.  is 
Hodgkins,  17 
Homewood,  21 
Hudson  Lake,  23 

Illinois  Centra]  Railroad,  22,  17 

Illinois  Geological  Survey,  v,  IT.  is 

[llinois-Michigan  Canal,  is  21 

Illinois  Biver,  ii.  T.  13,  is.  L9  21,  24,  26,  28, 

29,  Hi.  II.  is 
Illinois  State  Board  of  Health,  Report  of,  1!) 
[ndiana  Department  ,,f  <  "<  >n-n-r\-;tt  ii>n.  .'Hi 
[ndiana  Department  uf  ( i«-< >1< >^\  and  Natural 

Resources,  v 
[ndiana  Harbor,  !i 

Indians,  use  nf  Chicago  nutlet  by,  1!».  '21 
Iroquois  River.  26,  2!) 
Itaska,  41 

Ivan! ,  +n 

Ives.  40,  47,  18 

Joliet,  18,  19.  21,  25,  37,  39,  40,  12,  tT 
Joliet,  Louis.  21 
Juliet  stone  industry  of,  47-48 
Jones,  W.  I).,  v 

Kane  County,  v.  24,  28,  37,  41,  45,  47,  ts 

Kankakee,  25,  41,  48 

Kankakee  Basin,  26  27,  45 

Kankakee  County,  v.  27,  (5 

Kankakee  formation,  37 

Kankakee  marsh.  26  27 

Kankakee  River,  (i.  19,  23,  25,  26  27,  29,   15 

Kankakee  Sand  plain.  ti-T,  26-27,   16,  4S 

Kankakee  torrent.  7,  2.3 

Kankakee  Valley  Drainage  Company,  '20 

Kansan  epoch  of  glaciation,  2 


Lake  Mil  bigan,  30  31 

Lake  Michigan,  changes  in  level  of.  311  31 
Lake  Michigan  Basin:   formation  of.  5  T:  de- 

si  ription  of,  SO  31 
Lake  Michigan  lol f  glacier.  5,  6,  7,  16,  22, 

23 

Lake  Michigan  terrace  soils.  4.3 

Lake  Morris  (i.  26 
Lake  Ontario,  6,  31 
Lake  Plain,  1.  1 1    15,  16,  is.  22,  24,  32,  12,  1:'.. 

15,  Hi.  4S;  depth  of  bed  rock  on,  10 
Lake  region:  of  Illinois,  22  23;  of  In, liana, 

•23;  of  southeastern  Wisconsin,  22   23 
Lake  Superior,  31 
Lake  Zurich,  23,  10 

Lamar.  .1.  E.,  tT 
Lane's  Island,  is 
Laporte,  22,  23,  41 

Li te  County,  15,  22.  23,  2T 

La  Salle.  20 

LcighloTi.  M.  M..  v.  25 

Lemont.  18,  40.  41,  IT 

Levels  of  Great  Lakes.  30-31 

Leverett,  Frank,  v,  26,  28,  32.  39,  40,  41 

Limestone.  47-48 

Lincoln  Park.  33,  40 

Loekport,  20,  41 

Loess.  42.  43 

Long  Lake.  •iS 

Lowell,  25 

Ludington,  dunes  near,  34 

Lyons,  HI.  47 

Mae(  lintock,  Paul,  v 

MeCook.   IT 

McHenry  County,  v,  22,  23,  43.  4(i.  48,  4!) 

McLeansboro  formal  ion,  39 

Manhattan,  moraine.  '2.3 

Mantcno.  25,  41 

Manteno  Plain,  I.  18,  22,  25,  26,  46;  depth  of 


26  27,  28,39,  Hi.  H, 


ivausan  coot  u  oi  giaciauoil,  i. 

Kendall  County,  V,  37 

bed  rock  on,  41 

Kenosha,  11.  12,  32,  34,  4(1 

Marengo  moraine,  28 

Kenosha  County,  is,  23,  40.  44,  43 

Marquette,  19 

Kiev.  F„  IT 

Marseilles,  6 

Marseilles  moraine.  <i,  2s  20,  li 

La  Grange,  21.  11,  IT 

Marshes,  26,  2T.  Hi 

Lake  basins,  origin  of,  22 

Martin,  Lawrence,  \ 

Lake  Bluff,  17 

Mai  her.  S.  T„  9,  34 

Lake  Border  Upland,  1.  12,  16  IT,  18, 

22,  32, 

Maj  » 1,  is 

Hi:  depth  of  bed  rock  on.  40 

Mazon  Creek.  19,  26,  29 

Lake  Calumet.  1.3.  33,   1.3 

Medarvillc.    11 

Lake  Chicago,  7,  11,  12.  4-2,  13 

Me ,nc-  liner.   12 

LakeComo,  23 

Michigan  City,  9,  11.  16,  23,  31,  40 

Lake  County,  v,  1.3,  23,  21.  33,  11.  45 

,  43,  40 

Mill  Creek,  16 

Lake  Delavan,  23 

Miller,  14.  1.3,33.  31 

Lake  deposits.  4'2 

Milligan.  23 

Lake  Du  Page.   Ill 

Milwaukee.   12 

Lake  Elizabeth,  23 

Milwaukee  l{i\cr.  12 

Lake  Frie.  (i 

Minooka   aine.  20,  25,  28.  41 

Lake  Forest,  IT,   HI 

Mississippi  River.  6,  T.  13.  24 

Lake  Geneva,  23,  39,  Hi 

Mississippi  \  allej .  12 

Lake  George,  1.3,  33 

Mollieliee.  26,  27,    11.  48 

Lake  Huron,  0 

Monee,  -22.  11 

Lake  Joliet,  19 

Morgan  Park,  1 1 

Lake  Mane,  28 

Morris,  (i.  18,  27.  37.  43 

Morris  Basin,  6,  is. 

13.  1.3.  is.  50 
Morris-Kankakee  Basin,  1.  22.  2.3.  26    27.   12. 

1.3.   Hi.   17;  depth  of  Im-,1  rock  on.  II 
Mm, hi  For,- 1  Island,  Is.  22.  23 
Mourn  Langham,  29 
Mud  Lake,  is 

Naperville,  11 

Natural  divisions  of  region  of  Chicago.  1.  3.  4 

New  Albany  formal  ion,  30 

Niagara  escarpment.  1 

Niagara  limestone,  2.  6,  11.  19,  30.  IT    Is.  .30 

Niagarau  formation.  :!T 
Northbrook.  40 
North  Chicago.  17 

Oak  Park,  1(» 
Oakwoods  Cemetery,  ■'•■'• 
Oconomowoc  lakes.  23 
Ordovician  strata,  5,  37,  38 
Ottawa  sand.  1ST 

tinier  I  pland,  1.  16,  18,20,22,25,26,28-29, 

4ti;  depth  of  bed  rock  on.  41 
Outlet  River.  13.  10 
Out» ash  areas,  (i,  -24.  26,  1.3.  40,48 

Palatine,  10 

Palos  Park.  23.  '24 

Park  Ridge.  -24 

Pass  From  Greal  Lakes  to  Mississippi  Valley, 

18.  -21 
Peat,  44,  45,  46,  48-49 
Pendleton  formation.  30 
Penitentiary  at  Joliet,  47 
Pennsylvanian  shales,  utilization  of.  48 
Pennsylvanian  strata.  3T,  38.  39,  .30 
Pike  River,  1-2,  10.  32 
Pine  Lake.  23 
Pistakee  Lake.  i:i 
Plainfield.  18 
Platteville  formation,  37 
Poller,   18 

Poller  County,  1.3.  2T.  40,  1.3 
Potsdam  sandstone,  49,  50 
Poitsville  formation,  39 
Pulaski  <  ounty.  41 

Quarries,  47-48 
Quincy,  17 

Racine,   11.  1-2.  30.  32.   HI.  4S 

Racine  County.  18.  23.  HI.  41.  44.   17.   Is 

Racine  reef.  30 

Railroad  ballast.  3.3.  IT    IS 

Railroads,  1.  24,  30 

Rapids  of  Des  Plumes  River,  18-20 

Ravines  along  lake  shore.  T.  10.  3-2 

Recreational  areas.  L6   IT.  -21.  27 
Reefs  in  Lake  Michigan.  30 
Region  of  Chicago,  definition  of.  v 
Richmond  formation.  19,  3T.  49 
Ridge  Avenue,  12 
Ridge  roads.  12.   IS 
Riprap.  IT 
Riverdale,  14,  15.  21 
Riverside,  18,  40 


INDIA 


Road  metal,  17   18 
Rockdale  moraine,  25 
Rock  outcrops,  HI   H.  17   is 
Rogers  park.  S3 

Roi is.  19 

I!.... i  River,  12,  16,  is.  m 
Rose  Hill  Mar.  12 

Sag,  14,  I.-.,  is.  -.>i 

Sag  I  nannel,  14,  15,  is.  21,  i:i 

Saginan  lol f  glacier,  <> 

St.  An.,.-,  -'s.  29,  H 

>l.  John,  Former  village  of.  :i:i 

St  Peter  formation,  ::7.  Hi.  50 

Salisbury,  R.  1>..  v 

Sali  Creek,  is 

Sand,  ii.  26  27,  12,  14,  15,  Hi.  ts 

Sand  plain  of  Kankakee  Basin,  6  7.  26  -'7. 

4(1.  ts 
Sanitary  District  >>t  (  hicago,  19,  31 
Sawyer,  dunes  near,  :'•! 
Schantx,  i».  M.,  34,  Si 
Schaumberg,  n 
Seiches  of  Lake  Michigan,  30 
SI, am... ii.  C.  \V.,  :ll 
Shelbj  ville,  8 

Sheridan  Mineral  Spring,  Hi 
>l...r.'.|nft.  :iJ 

Shore  In..-  ..f  Lake  Michigan    II    16 
Silurian  strata,  .' 
Silver  Lai 
Sk.iki.-  marsh,  16 

Ml. III..  I..  II..  V 
Mill!).    U.  S  .  \ 

Soils  7    |;   v. 


South  Bend,  26 
South  Chicago,  !>   II.  14,  15 
Spoil  banks,  17 
Spring  Prairie,  11 
Springs,  4U 
Starke  Count]    v,  27 
Starved  Rock,  37 
Stockyards,  ».-ll  at,  50 
Stony  Man. I,  1 1    1 2,  m 
Sturgeon  May.  :lu 
Summit.  I:!.  IS.  III.   HI.  17 
Surface  material-.   I.'    Hi 
Surface  of  bed  rock,  ;i!>   1 1 
Taylor,  P.  B.,  v 

Terraces  in  ( Ihicag itlet,  is 

Thornton,  10,  17 

Tides  in  Lake  Michigan,  30 

Till,  glacial,  12 

Tolleston  stage,  Lake  Chicago,  12 

Topography  of  bed  rook.  :!!> 

Trail  Creek,  Hi.  23 

Union  (.r,.\c.  Hi 

I  iiit.-.l   Stat.--   Department    of    Vgr 

Bureau  of  Soils,  \.  13 
United  Stat.-  Geological  Survey,  v 
United  States  Lake  Survey,  v,  :!ii 
University  of  I  hii  a)  o 
University  of  Chicago,  Committee  i 

( 'ommunity  Research,  v 

Valparaiso,  22,  23,  M 
\  alparaiso  moraine,  22 
Valparaiso  Upland,  1,6,  Hi.  [8,21,25 
.'.i    t:.    Hi:  depth  of  bed  rock  on,  I 
Vegetation,  7  <• 


Wabash  Railroad,  25 
Walworth  County,  82,  1 1    10, 

ts.  hi 
Washington  Park,  S3 
\\  atei  resources,  Hi  .">u 
Wauconda,  Hi 
Waukegan,  7,  9,   1 1.  I-.'.  Hi. 

is 
Weather,  9  Hi 
Wells.  HI  .-.ii 
Wesl  <  'hicago,  -'.s 
Westerfield,  < '.  P.,  33 
Wheaton,  -'I 
Wheeler,  II 
Whitewater,  is.  hi 
Will  County,  22,  II 
Williams  Bay,  22 
Williamson  County,  Hi 
Willow  Spring.  20 
Wilmetti 

Wilmington,  25,  .17.  hi 
Wind  Lake,  23 


w, 


I  II 


Winnetka,  7.  II.  IS,  16,  17.  3  I  10 
Wisconsin  epoch  of  u'laoialion.  .'.  Ii 
Wisconsin  Geological  and   Natural   lli>t..r 

Survej  .  \ .  is 
Wisconsin  Soil  Sun  i       I 
Wolf  Lake,  15,  33 

W Kill,-.  II 

Worth,  is 

Yellow  River,  26 
Yorkville,  88 


rp»iNT[[>"| 


l'IOX;"     ''"'- '■'""  ■■'■■  '■■'     !■'■    ITI'BFS  Ol 

Tl.t  RSOION  01  ('mica ,     p     M     |m..,!i 

Hi. -'4  mi  t|u-  rr-pi-.rl-,  of  ilic  I    >    (,...|..^,^,l  Survey  and  of  t 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

3  0112  074714921 


